Dissociation
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: AU. He figured she just needed to let off some steam, but he had been wrong. Dead wrong. -Rated for Sexual Content-  Akito x Natsumi  Note: An OC story
1. Prologue: Stress

**A/n****: Here's a new story that we got from watching 'It's Complicated' and it's SUPER different than anything we have ever written before! So enjoy! And of course review!**

**Dissociation**

_Prologue_

-Stress-

Pale jade eyes met the, once again, empty side of the bed. Natsumi stared at the tousled sheets for awhile, frowning since she'd woken up alone. She sighed, glancing at the clock on her husband's side of the bed. It was almost seven, and she'd have to get up and make sure her children woke up and made it to the bus stop on time.

With another fortifying sigh, she got up from bed and tossed the sheets aside. It didn't take her long to shower and put her hair up with a jaw clip. She messed with her pink bangs and tried to comb them out with her fingers, but quickly gave up. She pulled on some black capris and a tight white t-shirt with a black flowery design and headed out into the hallway.

She stopped before one of the doors and knocked lightly before entering. "Kanamé, get up." She ordered. "It's time for school." She left and went to the room across from his and did the same, waking her daughter from her slumber. Finally, she stopped before another door and walked in, seeing her youngest fast asleep in his bed. She came into his room and stopped beside his bed. "Sanosuke," she called softly, tapping her four year old's cheek with her hand. He was small and had dark black hair just like his father's. "Wake up little one, time to eat some breakfast."

He groaned and buried his head further into his pillow. "No." he said sleepily, as it was one of his favorite words lately.

"Yes." She told him, pulling him up from his bed. "Please don't give mommy a hard time. She's not having a good day." She told him, his cranky mood sobering slightly.

"Daddy leave early again?" he asked.

She nodded and helped him get dressed, then picked him up and took him to the kitchen where her twins were already eating bowls of cereal. "Hi mom." They said together.

"Hello," Natsumi told them, sitting Sanosuke down in his designated booster seat. She fixed him a bowl of cereal and placed it down in front of him, watching him begin to eat. "Are you two all ready?" she asked her fraternal twins.

Both met her pale jade gaze with their own mirrored orbs. "Yes mom," Izayoi nodded, her short black hair cascading around her face. The boy beside her gave her a thumbs up, since his mouth was full at the moment, his bangs falling over his eyes.

"Alright hurry up and finish, cause' you have to get to the bus before it leaves." She told them, grabbing herself some toast as it popped up from the toaster. Once they were all finished, they grabbed their backpacks and Natsumi walked them out and down the streets, waiting until her fourth graders hopped on the bus and the yellow transportation disappeared around the corner.

Natsumi glanced down to the young boy holding her hand with a bored expression on his face and smiled. "Come on Sanosuke, let's go to the market, and then you and I can play all day long. How does that sound? And while you take your nap mommy can finish up her college homework."

He looked up at her, excitement lighting his jade eyes. "Are they going to have samples at the store this time?" he asked.

"I think so, it is a Wednesday and they usually do. I bet they'll even have those cookies you like." She smiled beautifully, for a moment, looking full of life. They went back to the house and got ready to leave. The rest of the day Natsumi and Sanosuke went grocery shopping and played all day, coloring in books and doing a few curricular activities. True to his nature, Sanosuke fell asleep and it was then that Natsumi attempted to finish her homework. She'd been trying to take some classes at the local college to get her generals out of the way.

She tapped her pencil against the desk in agony. She was twenty eight years old and she had nothing to show for it. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had a family, three beautiful kids and, recently, a fourth on the way. But, originally that hadn't been her plan, at least not to start out with. She'd wanted to become a doctor, but she'd gotten pregnant when she was nineteen and that pretty much eradicated all those plans. It wasn't that she was forced to quit, but it had been too difficult to raise the twins and then Sanosuke. But now that Sanosuke was getting older, she was finding time to finally try and achieve her goal.

She thought about her husband then and frowned. She'd been married to Uchiha Akito for almost nine years now. And back then when she'd gotten pregnant and he asked her to marry him, he was the love of her life. But now, she sighed, closing her eyes. She really didn't know how to feel anymore. He was always gone and off at the firm, and there were times when she thought he was cheating on her. But of course, she knew he was never the type to betray her. No, he would just ignore her feelings and blatantly disregard her. That was more Akito.

The rest of the day was pretty stressful, filled with dishes and laundry and cleaning. Then picking up Izayoi and Kanamé from the bus stop. Making sure the kids did their homework and finally cooking dinner. She was utterly exhausted. She didn't know how other women did it. Plus she hadn't gotten to finish her essay for class, and would have to stay up late working on it. Which also meant no sex. Again.

Natsumi let out an irritated noise, snapping the carrot in her hand in two. She tried to calm down. She and Akito hadn't sex in what seemed like _forever_. He was either too busy, or too tired, or came home after she'd already gone to bed. Or vice versa. But it was annoying nonetheless. Wasn't a perk about marriage supposed to be sex?

Pushing the thoughts aside she continued to cook, deciding that they would be having baked potatoes and steak, since she'd gotten a really good deal on the meat at the store. Just as she was finishing up with the preparations, she heard the front door open and then the hammering feet against the floorboards.

"Dad!" Kanamé and Izayoi cried out happily, running to meet their father at the door.

"Hey kids." A deep voice said, sounding a bit worn. "How was school?"

"It was great! Today we learned about long division and I got a gold star!" Izayoi told him proudly.

"That's wonderful sweetie. What about you Kanamé?"

The boy huffed and crossed his arms. "Mine was great, but my teacher said it just looked like a bunch of squiggles."

"It did look like a bunch of squiggles." Izayoi snickered.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!" they yelled, beginning to chase each other around and trying to roughhouse. Akito sighed, setting down his briefcase and loosening his tie.

"Don't break anything kids." He ordered, walking into the kitchen to see what was being made for dinner. "Hi honey." He greeted, kissing Natsumi on the cheek before going over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. "It smells great."

"How was work?" she asked routinely, not stopping in her process as she then began to set the table.

"Tedious. I had an eight o'clock briefing today, and Hammerstein wanted me in the office by seven-thirty." He said, opening his water and downing half of the bottle quickly. The sound of small feet could be heard then, and Sanosuke ran into the room.

"Dad!" he yelled, holding his arms out to be picked up by his father. Akito did so, holding the boy to his side.

"Hello Sanosuke. And what did you do today?" he asked, placing his water bottle on the table.

"Mom and I went to the store, and I got to eat a cookie for free! And then we played ninjas, and colored, and I took a nap! And then we got brother and sister from the bus stop." The little boy said excitedly.

"Sounds like you had a busy day." Akito commented, placing him in his booster seat so that he was ready to eat dinner when it was ready. Izayoi and Kanamé ran in then, taking their seats as Natsumi placed all the plates down in their places and took her spot at one of the ends of the table. Akito did so at the opposite end and picked up the paper, reading over the contents as he started to eat.

Natsumi frowned and looked to the paper as she helped Sanosuke with his food. "Sweetheart…" she began in that warning tone of hers. "You know I don't like it when you read at the table."

"I'm just looking at the business section." He said, taking a drink of water. "I'll put it down in a minute."

"You never put it down in just a minute." She retorted, giving him a disapproving look.

"Then I'll put it down when I finish." He said without looking at her.

Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she got up, walking around the table and snatching the paper from his hands. She crumpled it up and then threw it into the garbage before sitting back down. "There, now you're not distracted."

He glared at her across the table before looking down. "Well, _somebody_ didn't get enough beauty sleep." He mumbled, beginning to eat.

"Of course I didn't." she snapped. "I had to get up and make sure the kids got to school and I had lots to do today. So excuse me for wanting what _little_ time you grace us with to be nice and actually worth anything to you."

"Maybe it would be worth more if you took that stick out of your-" he glanced at the kids then, before looking back at her. "Nevermind. It's too big, it'd be next to impossible."

Natsumi went wide eyed and dropped her fork. Kanamé and Izayoi went silent, looking between their parents. She stood up and looked to her children and they could all tell she was trying to remain in control. "Kids. Please finish up your dinner and do the dishes once you're done." She told them, picking her plate up and setting it on the counter before walking from the room.

Akito just rolled his eyes and finished eating dinner with his children. When it was over, he took Sanosuke back to his room and read a book with him before tucking him in and kissing him goodnight. He checked on the twins, making sure they had both brushed their teeth before having them go to sleep. Once his house was in order, he picked up his briefcase and walked into his home office, pulling out some of his paperwork from earlier.

He worked for a few more hours, and then grew too tired to continue, so he put it all away and went back to his bedroom. He walked in and saw Natsumi sitting in bed, working on something he assumed had to do with school. "The kids are asleep." He told her, going into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed himself.

She decided to ignore him, since she really didn't want to start yet another fight before going to bed, and she was far too tired to deal with him at the moment anyways. She saved her work, since she'd been able to finish her essay, and closed the laptop, putting it aside.

Akito came out of the bathroom a moment later, dressed in some long pajama pants and a t-shirt. He pulled back the covers on his side of the bed and got in, turning off his bedside lamp and sighing once he was situated. "I need you to take off on Thursday, at least half the day." She said, remaining in her upright position. At his irritated sigh, she glared at his back, "It's for the kid's parent teacher conference. Plus I have a-"

"Can't you just go? I don't see why it is absolutely pertinent that both of us be there." He interrupted, not moving.

"Because," she snapped, angry that he had cut her off yet again. Especially when she was trying to tell him she had a doctor's appointment, since she'd missed her period and had gotten a positive on the home pregnancy test. "It's important that we both go. You are their father." She said harshly, crossing her arms. "Even if you're hardly ever in their lives."

He sat up at this and glared at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I work so much so that I can provide for this family. So that our children, and you, don't want for anything."

"I realize that," she countered, meeting his glare. "But I would appreciate it if every once in a while you actually took the time to be with me or the kids. When was the last time you actually spent a day with them where you weren't working?"

"….Christmas." he said. "But I took two days off for that, not just one."

"It's September!" she yelled, trying to get him to see why she was so upset.

"So! I was present for all of their birthdays!" he frowned, becoming angry. "I don't see what the problem is."

"You're never here! And you worked through the last four! And you've become like this robot and you don't ever care to help me with anything. You come home, eat dinner, work, and then go to sleep. Then wake up before I'm even in my REM sleep to go to work once again! When was the last time you even spent time with me? Huh? We haven't been on a date in three years!" she shouted, only getting louder as her anger rose.

"I just put the kids to bed, all because you were PMS-ing!" he yelled. "I work for twelve hours every day so that I can move up in the company and get that promotion. When I come home, I'm tired, and all I want to do is relax and read the paper. But _somebody_ doesn't seem to want to allow me that luxury."

"Luxury?" she shrieked, getting out of bed then, unable to stand being in the same space as him. "_I_ should be a luxury!" she pointed to him accusingly."But you're too damn tired to deal with my feelings that you've just shut it all out!"

"Then maybe you should stop feeling so damn much!" he stood as well, not wanting her to have any sort of height advantage over him in this. "Don't patronize me Natsumi. I know you don't care about my day when you ask me. There is never an inflection of interest in your tone. I don't know what your deal is, but you've been getting progressively worse ever since you started going back to school."

"Of course I don't care about what sucks the life from you!" she tried to stand taller, though it did nothing to give her anything to him. "And _sorry_ that I actually want to make something of myself. It wasn't like I wanted to get pregnant and give up my dream of being a surgeon! And like you can talk, it's like we're not even married! I never see you, and we _never _have sex anymore. I feel like all you're doing now is keeping me around because I take care of the children and clean your damn house!"

"If you're tired of cleaning the house, we can always hire a maid for cheap." He said. "As for the sex, if you have so much time and energy to be horny, they have plenty of adult stores you can go to until I am free for such an event." He crossed his arms.

"That's it!" she screamed, grabbing her jacket from one of the chairs in the room and pulling it on. "I've had it with you and your attitude!" she grabbed her car keys and slipped on her shoes, heading for the door. "I'm tired of being treated like nothing and an inconvenience! I want a divorce!"

Akito just watched her as she left the room, and shortly after he heard her shut the front door and lock it before driving away. He sighed, turning off the lamp and getting back into bed, since he had an early day tomorrow. He knew she didn't really mean it, she was completely devoted to him, and he knew for a fact that when she was angry she said things she didn't mean. Besides, she would never be able to provide for herself. She didn't finish school, and had never had a job before. Rolling over, he soon fell asleep, knowing that she would be back in the morning, and then everything would be fine.


	2. Bitterness

**Dissociation**

_Chapter One_

-Bitterness-

_**Five years later…**_

Akito sat in a small coffee shop with Toshiro, his best friend and partner in law. He took a sip from his hot beverage, frowning at his friend. "I'm just saying that in this case, she should consult more with her husband before packing up and leaving. They have two kids after all. And this has nothing to do with what Natsumi did, it's just polite." He said, pointing at the redhead, knowing that that was what he was thinking.

Five years ago, after their argument, Natsumi had just left. He figured she just needed to let off some steam, but he had been wrong. The next day, she was still gone. And so he had gotten the kids ready and off to school. Minako, one of his friend's, and Toshiro's girlfriend at the time, had come over to watch Sanosuke, since Akito didn't want to leave him at a daycare with people he didn't know. Then he went to work, coming home late as he usually did.

But, this time when he walked through the door, he was greeted with a silent house. Walking around, he saw that many things were missing, and thought that they had been robbed. That is, until he realized that all of Natsumi's things were gone, as well as all of the children's. When he went into the kitchen, he found a note stuck to the fridge. It was from Natsumi, and all it said was that she wanted him to have a nice life, and that he should expect divorce papers as soon as possible.

He was more than pissed, and did anything and everything he could to try and find where she had gone with his kids. But it was impossible. She had hidden herself well, not even telling her own brother where she had gone. A week later he had been served with the divorce papers, but the return address was of the law firm she had chosen to use, and so he still could not find her. He gave her what she wanted and signed them, everything being handled through the mail, since he didn't care too much about everything she had taken.

After that was over, he threw himself into his work with vigor, wanting to keep his mind off of the fact that he would probably never see his kids again. Eventually he and Toshiro had become partners in the firm they worked for, and with his new income Akito bought himself a bigger, nicer home. He packed away all of the pictures Natsumi had left of the two of them, since he figured she didn't want them, and bought a bunch of new furniture, to go with his new life. He dated, sort of, but for the most part just kept one night stands, so that no woman would become attached to him. He had everything he had ever wanted, and yet he still felt hollow and unsuccessful, though he was too prideful to delve into that.

Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "No you're right. We'll try and set up a meeting where we can get a mediator so the two of them don't kill each other."

"Excellent." He took another sip. "So, how are things with Minako and Ayame going?" he asked, since it had been a while since he had gotten to see them.

"Perfect." The redhead smiled. "It seems that every day I just love them more and Ayame is absolutely adorable. I remember when Sanosuke was four, he was pretty darn cute, but my little girl." He laughed, shaking his head as he took a sip of his coffee. "Such a beautiful gift though, I think I'm going to take next week off since Minako's getting worn. She deserves a break. Hope that's ok that I work from home."

"Of course. I can handle everything while you're gone, and if I need you I'll call." Akito said, staring into his cup as he thought of his children. He thought of them every day, and it killed him that he didn't know how they were doing, and that he hadn't gotten to see how they had grown.

Seeing his friend's now darker demeanor, he reached over and pat his arm before pulling his hand back. "It's going to be ok Akito. I know you're going to see them again."

"Yeah well when I do, I'm going to sue Natsumi for everything she's worth." He glared. "And then I'm going to take the kids from her. The jury will give me custody of the kids once they hear everything that happened. And I'm probably more suitable to take care of them now anyways." He had it all planned out. When you were a lawyer as good as he was, with the connections and money he now had, there was no way anyone would have a chance of beating him. Especially when he really wanted something.

Toshiro frowned, "Akito…I know what she did was wrong. But you know as well as I do, that you allowed this to happen. As good as your intentions were, you put work before your family and you paid the price. You can't punish her for that. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't go for joint custody, but don't play out some heinous plan that you've no idea what you're really going to do when you see her." He pointed out, trying to remind his friend, even though the confession of deserving what he'd gotten had come from a drunken stupor.

"I don't care." He said stubbornly. "That still doesn't give her the right to take away my kids and keep them from me. They deserve a father just as much as I deserve to see them."

"Look," Toshiro gestured to him, "You've been going on a downhill slope for a couple weeks now and I think you need something to get your mind off the whole 'your personal life sucks' thing. Tomorrow, at my house, I'm having a…well…a get together, with some potential clients and I'll need you there. And I think you'll need it, plus what better way to not think about it than to delve into work again. What do you say?"

"I guess I can come." He sighed. "At least that way I can see Minako and Ayame, and I don't have to cook for myself." The corner of his lip rose slightly.

"Well Minako will, Ayame is staying over at Minako's parents since I would rather her not be around alcohol."

"Good point. What time do I need to be there?"

"Just show up around seven thirty that should be good." He smirked, downing the rest of his drink and setting the cup down.

"Alright, I'll be there."


	3. The Party of Many Surprises

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Two_

-The Party of Many Surprises-

At seven-thirty sharp, Akito pulled up to Toshiro's house in his black Lamborghini. He got out and straightened the jacket of his business suit before locking the car and walking up to the front door. He knocked then, and waited for it to be answered.

The door was opened by one of Toshiro's three butlers, who was dressed finely and noise could already be heard from inside. "Welcome Master Uchiha. Master Toshiro has been expecting you." He bowed respectfully and let him in. The door closed behind him and already Akito could see a mass of people throughout the large home. Though some of these people looked vaguely familiar, he just couldn't tell why.

He walked through the house and talked to a few people before grabbing himself a glass of champagne. When he went to take a drink from it, he nearly choked at what he saw. There, across the room and talking to a group of people was Natsumi, looking as beautiful as ever, in a tight black dress that only went over one of her shoulders and cinched high up on one of her legs. She looked like a diamond that had regained its brilliant luster. He turned around quickly, thinking about what he was going to do. Toshiro was right, he had no idea what to even say to her, much less initiate his plan. Not wanting her to see him and possibly confront him before he was prepared, he downed his glass and walked off towards the kitchen, wanting something stronger than the champagne that was being served.

Natsumi tried to peer around the head of the person she was talking to. She couldn't have just seen Akito. Sure, he and her brother were best friends, but her brother wouldn't have invited him to a party he was throwing for her would he? She grimaced. She didn't like the odds that were against her in this. And she most certainly was not ready to talk to her ex-husband who she hadn't seen for five years. "I'm sorry," she interrupted the elder, smiling apologetically. "But I have to go, I'll be sure to catch up with you some other time."

She bowed out and quickly dismissed herself from the group, setting down her glass before grabbing her clutch and heading towards the door. She hurried through the room and then into the empty foyer, the front doors were even in her sight. She was so close. Her arm was grabbed suddenly and she was turned around, coming face to face with Akito. And he didn't look happy.

"Are you just going to leave without saying goodbye again?" he asked.

Her mouth felt dry and what came out was worse than what she originally had planned. "I can't say goodbye to you."

"So you can disappear from my life, with my kids, but you can't say goodbye?"

"Yes." She replied, hardening a bit as she tried to pull away. "Now please let go, you're hurting me."

He leaned closer to her face, the depths of his green eyes seeming bottomless. "You don't know the meaning of being hurt."

"_Excuse me_?" she seethed. "I don't know the meaning of being hurt. You _ignored_ me for nearly six years. Took me for granted, while I loved you until I literally had nothing left to give from everything you sucked up like a vampire!"

"Well if you had stayed and actually talked to me about it, we could have worked it all out!" he said.

"No Akito, we couldn't. I tried to talk to you and all you ever did was get mad at me and I quote 'for having too many feelings'. It was like a time bomb just waiting to go off. We tried couples therapy, and you kept canceling because you were too busy for the sessions. You were too busy for me!" She glared, trying to stay angry, but all his presence was causing within her was ache and pain, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Well I'm not busy anymore." He told her.

"Well it's too late now." She jerked away from him and hurried towards the door.

Akito followed her, shutting the door just as she opened it, and turned her around. Before she could yell at him, his mouth slammed down onto hers, and he kissed her with a passion and frustration he never had before. Her eyes widened and before she could push him away from her body, she gripped onto him and kissed him back feverishly.

"Let me go." She ordered against his lips, pushing him back and against two beautifully crafted doors, but not removing her body from his. He reached behind him and turned the knob, falling into the room that happened to be the master bedroom. He quickly shut the door behind them before picking her up and tossing her onto the bed, climbing over her as she recovered from her landing.

"You know you want this as much as I do." He said before kissing her once more.

She shook her head, gripping onto him tightly as he trailed desperate kisses down her throat, biting on her sensitive skin. "No I don't. I don't need you." She whimpered beneath him, beneath the only man she had ever loved.

"But you want me." He said against her skin, reaching down and beginning to bring up her dress. "And I want you."

"Akito you were the first man that I ever fell in love with and the father of my children. But I do _not_ want you." She reiterated, trying to sound strong, though her body betrayed her.

He rubbed the sensitive spot between her legs, having pushed aside her underwear, smirking up at her in that knowing way he always used too. "You say that, and yet you're already soaked for me."

"That's usually what happens when someone touches you in a sexual way." She retorted a bit angrily.

"Don't tell me you don't like it." He said, slipping a finger inside her and beginning to move it. It felt almost like old times. He still remembered how to play her body like a fiddle, and her reactions were just as erotic as ever. She gave into the moan that escaped her throat. She had forgotten just how well he knew her. She'd been in love with him since she was seven and it was impossible to deny that there was nothing there. Because, there would never be nothing between them.

"Akito." She panted softly. "We're divorced."

"So." He said, pulling away and taking off his jacket before un-tucking his shirt. He pulled down the top of her dress and began to lavish her chest with kisses. "Haven't you ever wanted to have a fling?"

"Not with you." She smirked, letting her fingers run through his dark locks as she had so many years ago. "I never wanted to see you again."

"Well that worked out just wonderfully." He pulled down her bra and sucked her nipple into his mouth. "Come on Natsumi, do something bad with me."

"I've done lots of bad things with you Akito." She smiled, reminiscing in the days when it had only been them and their love.

"Then let's do it again." He stopped what he was doing and rose above her so that he could see her face.

She shook her head. "No Akito, I can't I have to get home." She tried one more time in hopes that she would be able to resist him or he would give up this alluring attempt. She had to admit that having sex with him again was sounding more and more appealing the more he touched her body.

"No you don't." he said, nuzzling her neck before kissing her skin and biting softly until he reached her ear. "You know, I increased my workout regimen. You should see what it's done to my abs." he whispered sensually, knowing that it was one of her weaknesses. She glanced down, keeping her eyes on his abdomen.

"Really?" she trembled slightly. Ah fuck it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him once more, biting down on his lower lip. "Show me why I married you in the first place you big bad lawyer. Sue the fuck out of me." She ordered, ripping his shirt open and breaking a few of the buttons off.

She gasped, taking in his delicious muscles. "Oh my."

"Told you." He smirked, taking off his shirt. He grabbed the top of her dress and pulled it off, revealing her body to him. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's been exercising." He pointed out, beginning to kiss her flat stomach.

"Yes well…I was a bit tired of the single mom look." She sighed, a bit embarrassed at being revealed to him once more.

"You look great either way." He said, pulling off her bra before kissing her chest once more. She moaned, arching into his grip. He reached down and removed her underwear before rubbing her most private area once more.

She moved against him, missing the touch that seemed to awaken her like a sleeping fire. She lifted her legs and began to slide his pants down along with his boxers. "Come on sweetheart." She murmured, closing her eyes. "Don't keep me waiting."

He kissed her passionately. "You know I never do." He said against her lips. He positioned himself at her entrance before slowly sliding into her tight heat. He groaned, beginning to move at a steady pace.

"Akito!" she screamed out, tightening around him and wrapping her legs around his waist to push him further into her, thrusting against him.

"That's right baby, scream my name." he told her, bringing her closer and going faster.

Natsumi latched onto him as if he were the only thing keeping her in the physical world. She'd forgotten just why she'd ended up getting pregnant. Because when they had finally had sex for the first time, she couldn't get enough of it. But this was wrong. They shouldn't be fornicating on her brother's bed. God! She was such a horrible person.

But what was he doing? She buried her face into the crook of his neck as he pounded into her roughly, more roughly than he ever had before. Was this revenge upon her? Once he'd had his final taste would he dish out all the hateful things she knew he felt towards her for leaving him and taking her children. But then he hit something deep inside her that made all her previous thoughts vanish instantly. She moaned into his skin, biting into his skin and clawing at his back as she met his thrusts.

And every time she began to match his pace he sped up, not giving her a chance to hardly breathe. Akito himself was in heaven. Sex with Natsumi had always been incredible, no matter how many times they did it. And God how he missed her. He would never admit it aloud, but he had. After the divorce had become final he'd had multiple sexual partners, trying to find someone who was as good as she was, but it was impossible. Nothing compared to being buried deep within Natsumi. Nothing.

He ground against her core while still within her, not breaking his pace at all. Through this act he was taking out all of his frustration and anger with her, though he doubted she knew it. But he was always better at expressing himself through actions instead of words.

After a bit longer of his thrusts, he could feel that familiar sensation building up in his abdomen, and he looked down at her. He could tell by the look on her face that she was beginning to feel it too, but he wanted to push her over the edge. So he reached between them and began to rub at her clit as he pounded into her. Her eyes widened and she threw her head back, screaming out in ecstasy. She didn't care who heard, he was making her feel things she hadn't felt since when they were married. No man had known her body like he did. Her whole body condensed and he felt her tightening squeeze and the warmth that spread around his member with her liquid fire as she came all over him.

The sensation caused him to groan as he thrust into her one last, harsh time, before he met his end as well, his essence mixing with her own, the excess seeping out of her and onto the sheets. He pulled out of her and lay on his back next to her, both staring at the ceiling as their heart rates went back to normal. "That was even better than I remember." Akito said, somewhat in awe.

Natsumi groaned and ran her hands down her face. "Oh my God I can't believe we just did that! And on my brother's bed." She shook her head, cursing herself for how good she felt. It was as if her body was finally sated in its need for a man. She rolled over and hit him in the chest weakly. "Why'd you do that!" she growled out, but pouted, her angry fading rapidly as she eyed his gorgeous body.

"Hey!" he said, looking at her. "You went along with it!" then he smiled deviously. "You gotta admit though, it was kind of hot to do it in here. I mean, in a forbidden place." He wagged his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the small pink blush from her cheeks and sat up, covering her chest with her hands. "Yes I admit, it was somewhat hot and _maybe_ it was really great." She huffed, fumbling around with her panties and her bra and trying to get them on. It felt so odd to be filled once again. Not since her last sexual intercourse with Akito had she ever let someone release inside of her. "Well that was fun and it was _so_ great seeing you again Akito. But I really gotta go."

"Wait." He sat up, beginning to dress himself as well. "What do we do now?"

"Nothing," she said with a sigh, pulling her dress on and smoothing out the wrinkles. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get rid of her sex look. "I'm going to go home. Snuggle up in bed and forget this ever happened and then I'm going to wake up and got to work."

He stood and tucked his shirt back in. "I want to see the kids." He said, putting on his jacket.

Natsumi froze and her blood turned to ice in her veins. She looked at him and he saw the clearly defined horror that was in her jade depths, but he didn't know why. "No." she shook her head quickly, grabbing her shoes and trying to make it to the door before he could stop her. Of course, it was a futile effort. He shoved her against the door, pressing into her from behind to keep her pinned.

"Then until I can see them, I want to see you again." He said in her ear, not wanting to start another argument, since he didn't feel up to it. On top of that, being with her once more…made him feel whole, if just for a moment.

"No." she breathed out. "Akito we shouldn't. I left you for a reason." She whimpered, hating how weak she was against him. This was definitely not how she pictured meeting Akito again after all these years.

"We don't have to get back together if that's not what you want. This can just be…like an affair." He said, skimming his lips along the surface of her neck. "Or something. Come on Natsumi, we could just catch up."

She shook her head. "I don't want to be anywhere near you if you're married."

"You are the only woman I have ever married."

Natsumi looked down, resting her forehead on the wood and trying to control her breathing and the wave of relief that washed over her. "Ok…how about this?" she tried to glance back. "You give me your number and I'll see if I want to call you or not."

He stepped back and pulled a business card from his wallet. "Here. This has my cell, home, and office number on it." he said, holding it out to her. "Don't call the office after five, cause' I won't be there to answer it."

"There's a surprise," she said a bit lowly, taking the card from him and looking at the numbers. Her gaze softened a bit when she saw the cell number. It was the same as it had been five years ago.

"Yes, well, some wise person told me that I work too much." The corner of his mouth tilted slightly. "So I quit working long hours. Plus, being a partner has its perks."

"I'm sure it does." She rolled her eyes, grabbing the door knob and opening the door and heading out into the hallway with him close behind. "Like big brown eyed, big breasted, secretaries who wear their shirt with half the buttons undone to show off their cleavage."

Akito looked a bit puzzled and then smirked. "How do you know that?" he asked into her ear, setting his hands on her hips.

She huffed and pulled away from him, a small blush dusting across her face. "I _may_ have…attempted to reconcile with you _slightly_ when I first arrived back in the city. But I thought it better not to."

"You should have. Perhaps then we could have had a little fun on my desk." He said. "Besides, you should know that I have always and still do think that your breasts are the best." His smirk widened.

"And I'm sure you've had other girls on that very desk. And you only like my breasts cause I was the first girl to let you touch them." She stuck her tongue out at him and stopped at the front door. "And don't try and lace me with your compliments and wit Akito. You forget, I _do_ know how good of a lawyer you are and you've probably gotten better. But I have to go." She smiled, holding his face with her hand. "I'm happy this wasn't the brawl and hate fest I assumed it would be. I'll call you if I need some legal advice." She smiled and pulled away from him, opening the door and closing it behind her.

He sighed, a small smile making its way to his face. Well, this certainly wasn't what he had pictured them doing upon seeing each other again. But he was glad. He turned to go and find Toshiro, knowing that his friend had orchestrated their meeting up again. He found the redhead talking to a few elder looking men, and it just so happened that they were finishing their conversation just as Akito walked up. He crossed his arms and gave his best friend a stern look. "You just think you're so clever, don't you?" he asked, raising a brow.

Toshiro shifted his dark jade gaze, lifting his glass to his lips and finishing it off. "Why, whatever do you mean Mr. Uchiha?" he asked, trying not to smirk.

"Oh shut up." He said, rolling his eyes. "I know you planned it all."

"I don't know what you're talking about my friend." The redhead snickered, beginning to walk off.

"Well, you might want to wash you sheets. Just saying." Akito smirked, turning towards the foyer. "See you at work. I'm heading home."

Toshiro stopped and looked confused for a moment before going wide eyed. "Akito!" he yelled, growing angry and disgusted at the same time. "Damnit." He cured, hurrying off to go find one of the maids. "Stupid Akito." He grumbled.


	4. Visit

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Three_

-Visit-

Akito sat at his desk, writing on his notepad what he would need to gather before the case on Monday. It had been four days since he'd seen, and had hot hate sex with, his ex-wife. As amazing as it had been, her lack of contact was really taking its toll. Especially since all he could think of lately was either her naked body beneath his and the amazing sex. Or his children, which he had still yet to be able to see. His phone rang and without even glancing up, he took the phone from the receiver and placed it to his ear. "Yes?"

"_Mr. Uchiha._" Said a husky feminine voice.

"What is it Taka?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed. "I'm very busy."

"_Sir, it's your…doctor. And it's important._"

Akito tried to think what on earth his doctor would want, he hadn't been in over two years. "Fine." He hung up and then picked up the other line. "Uchiha Akito."

"_Hello Mr. Uchiha._" A silky and unbelievably familiar voice came on the line. "_I am calling to inform you, that you are in need of a penile exam. Right now._"

"Natsumi?" he asked in semi-disbelief.

"_It's doctor Natsumi now, actually._"

Surprise lit his brow. So she had finished school and become a doctor. He was happy for her, since a part of him had always felt guilty that she had had to postpone her career to raise their kids. "Oh, well…where is your office located?" he asked, ripping off a separate page in his notebook.

"_I actually work at the Boston Medical Center now. You can just come in and tell them you're my one o'clock. I don't have any surgeries until four and I'm not on call either. And I'm kinda horny so, if you could hurry._"

"I'm already on my way." He said before hanging up. He stood and put on his jacket before grabbing his cell phone and keys. He swiftly walked out of his office and looked to his secretary. "I'm off to a doctor's appointment. Seems I forgot I scheduled it. Tell Toshiro I'm gone, and if anyone needs me, they can leave a note on my desk. Don't call me at all." He instructed.

"But, Mr. Uchi-" Taka began, stopping when he rounded the corner and walked away. "ha. Nevermind." She sighed, picking up the phone to dial the redhead's office.

Akito sped towards the hospital, feeling his excitement growing the closer he got. He parked in the valet parking, and walked straight up to the desk. "Hey. I am Doctor Natsumi's one o'clock." He said.

The woman looked him over and blinked. "Oh alright." She smiled, pulling out a clipboard and handing it to him. "Follow me and fill out this form." She instructed, getting up and leading him back into the hospital halls. She took him to a room and held the door open for him. "I'll page Dr. Natsumi and tell her you're here. Just finish that up while you wait."

"Thank you." He said as she shut the door. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, tossing the clipboard onto a chair, since he wouldn't need it.

It wasn't much later until there was a soft knock on the door and then it opened, revealing an extremely gorgeous pink haired doctor, wearing her lab coat over a pair of dark red scrubs. She walked over to the chair and picked up the clipboard, glancing over it. "So what seems to be the problem Mr. Uchiha?" she smirked.

"I don't know, I just feel tingly all over." He said. "But I think there's something wrong with my dick. Can you take a look at it?" he asked.

"Of course." She smiled, tossing the clipboard aside and snapping her fingers. "Remove the pants." He stood from the bed and took his shoes and socks off before taking off his pants and boxers, setting them on the chair.

She bit down on her lower lip and stared down at the body part that still ceased to amaze her. She ran over and tackled him onto the hospital bed, pressing her lips against his. "I have a special treatment for you." She murmured against his lips, smoothing her hand between them and taking a hold of his member, jerking it slightly.

He grunted, kissing her again. "Good, cause' I'm a special case."

"I can tell." She smirked, sitting up and removing her hand from him. She looked down and smiled, teasing the tip with her finger. "It's so swollen Mr. Uchiha. You just need to have it nice and soaked." She licked her lips, pulling off her coat and then her scrub shirt.

He took off his jacket and then loosened his tie, knowing that things were about to get hot. "Do whatever you must Doctor. You are the expert." He smirked slightly.

"You bet I am." She purred, reaching behind her and unclasping her bra and letting her breasts fall loose. She moved skillfully, removing her pants and panties, snaking her hands up his chest, rubbing her soaking heat against his erection. "Never before would you have ditched work to come and have sex with me."

"For some reason the thought never entered my mind." He said, taking off his shirt. "I was really stupid." He smoothed his hands up her sides. She moaned softly, just from his touch and then repositioned herself over him, sliding down onto his hardened shaft.

"Oh god." She threw her head back. Why did he feel so much better than anyone else she'd slept with? Slowly, she began to move up and then came back down on him, feeling his thick member stretch her tight walls.

"You're always so tight." He ground out, placing his hands on her hips and meeting her thrusts. "I love it."

She rested her palms on his chest, trying to come down on him harder. "It's because my hips are so small. I have no idea how I managed out so many boys." She groaned, smiling up at the ceiling. "Oh Akito, I hate how good you feel inside me."

"You just keep lying to yourself on that one." He smiled slightly, moving his hands to her rear and going faster.

"Oh yes!" she screamed, feeling him hit her deepest core. "Harder Akito! Fuck me harder!" He did as she ordered, gritting his teeth at the intense pleasure. He just loved it when she talked dirty. It went against that perfect image she put up for everyone.

She gripped onto her bouncing breasts, pinching her hardened nipples between her fingers. She moaned out, bucking her hips against his and meeting his thrusts perfectly in sync. "Oh God!" he moaned, becoming even more aroused at the sight she was presenting him with. He slammed into her particularly hard, and after a few more of these thrusts, slammed her down onto him as he came inside of her with an elongated groan. She joined him in his release, moaning out in bliss.

She panted out, collapsing forward and laying on his chest. "That was…" she breathed out, trying to catch her breath.

"Incredible." He finished, wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him. She moved against him and enjoyed her final moments of fulfillment. She sat up then and shook her head, trying to fix her hair.

"Well thanks." She smiled, sliding off of him and sitting on the edge of the bed. "But you probably have to get back to work and I don't want this to look suspicious or anything."

"Not really." he shrugged, standing and beginning to get dressed. "But I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

Once they were dressed he looked at her. "Natsumi...are you ever going to let me see the kids? I know I wasn't that great of a father but I still love them, and not seeing them for five years really sucks." he asked, actually showing the emotions he was feeling on his face.

She froze, only for a moment, while pulling on her shirt, but he had seen it and knew from the slight flex of her muscles that she was now on the defense and that was never a good thing. "It's not that simple anymore." Was all she said, refusing to turn around. She knew it was wrong of her to just disappear with their children, but he wouldn't have taken care of them the way they needed to be taken care of and she had had to get far away from him so that he couldn't talk her back into that prison sentence they both called a marriage.

But it was complex. He didn't know she'd been pregnant when she left and so he didn't know about Hayate. She smiled at the thought of her sweet little boy who was the most precious thing in the world. And he looked just like Akito, so much that it hurt sometimes to look at him.

"What is so complicated about it?" he asked. "They're my kids too, and they deserve to have their father present in their lives. What do I need to do to convince you that I can be a better father?" he asked.

Finally, she faced him, looking angry. "You had nine years to show me you could be a good father. And at first you were, but right when the twins started getting difficult you pulled away and started working like crazy. You think it wasn't hard for me? To throw away my life to take care of them because two horny college students couldn't control themselves?" she yelled. "If you love them, you will leave them alone because you will drag them into something I don't think they're ready for." She warned. "It's bad enough you and I suck at being divorced and are horrible people but I won't let that happen to my children."

"They are my kids too." he glared, pointing at his chest. "And the way things stand now, I could take you to court and take them away from you. But I won't, because they don't deserve that. People change Natsumi. I realized after you left me that there were a lot of things I could have done differently, and I changed my life for the better. I became the man that I should have been back then, you just have to give me the chance to show you." he reasoned, keeping his temper under control because he didn't want to ruin the shaky relationship that they were beginning to build.

"I want you to go away. Right now." She warned, her voice dangerously low. "And if you ever threaten to take them away from me again, I will _kill_ you. Do not test me Akito. I'm warning you." She pointed at him, grabbing her coat and walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

He sighed, hating it when she got all freaky and psycho. Picking up his phone, he left the room and went back to his office to finish his work. But the rest of the day he just sat behind his desk, his thoughts drifting back to her and their kids. He never pegged her as someone who would be so cruel as to keep them away from him, and it angered and confused him at the same time. He didn't know what to do about it. He wouldn't bring up the subject of their kids the next time he saw her, because he knew the answer would be the same. But what to do to change her mind?

Then it hit him. He knew she still felt something for him, to some degree. You couldn't go through everything that they had and not still be affected. So, all he had to do was try to woo her once more. By doing that, he could convince her that he had changed. And maybe then she would let him see the kids.


	5. Wooing

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Four_

-Wooing-

The next day, Akito called a florist and had a large arrangement sent to Natsumi at the hospital. He knew she would love it, because not only was it made up of lilies, her favorite flower, but he had also placed one yellow orchid in the center. When they had first begun dating, he had done the same thing, telling her that it symbolized how she was the sun in his life, always making it brighter.

He was very proud of his genius in doing such a thing, and he had instructed the florist to have the delivery boy call him when it had been dropped off. Because he knew that shortly after Natsumi got it, he would be getting a phone call. And, true enough, the boy called him shortly after eleven. Once the call was over with, Akito sat back in his chair and looked at the phone expectantly, waiting for it to ring.

For a while, nothing happened and Akito began to feel something in his stomach sink with despair. Until he saw the little red light on the phone flicker, followed closely with the ring he had grown so accustomed to. He sat up quickly, almost too eagerly, but composed himself and took a deep breath before answering. "Uchiha Akito." He said as coolly as he could manage. An irritated scowl crossed his features and he glared at the phone. "Toshiro? I'm waiting for an important call. Don't call me again! I'll call you." He yelled, losing his cool and hanging up.

It rang right again and he pulled up the end hastily, dropping it and fumbling around with the phone. "Toshiro I said I'd-"

"_What are you trying to pull Akito?_" a crisp, but clearly feminine voice strained out.

"Well hello to you too, Natsumi." He said, recovering his demeanor. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"_Don't 'What are you talking about' to me Akito. Why did you send me __**those **__flowers? Why did you even send me flowers at all?_"

"You seemed a bit distraught yesterday, and so I wanted to cheer you up." He said. "Besides, you love those flowers."

"_Yes, I know I love those flowers. As you know as well. What I fail to see is really why. What are you trying to manipulate into your favor?_"

He frowned. "I am not manipulating anything." He said sharply, indicating that he was offended she had even thought that. "There's nothing wrong with doing a kind gesture. The fact that I have decided to woo you only has a small part in it."

"_Oh? You're wooing me now? What makes you think I want to be wooed by you? You and I both know you can woo me. That isn't where things went wrong last time._"

"I know. But I figured we should try and start over. And what better place to do that than the beginning?" he shrugged.

There was silence for a while, before he heard her sigh. Which was a very excellent sign. "_Why are you doing this Akito? Why do you want to woo me? Why don't you even hate me? I left you and I did it in the worst possible way a person could._"

He sighed then. "Because I never stopped loving you. It was my fault that you left, and even though it wasn't exactly the nicest way to do so, I don't think I really have it in me to hate you. Be bitter, sure, but not hate."

His answer was once again silence. "_Akito…_" she paused. "_I always loved you…but I just can't do this again._"

"I'm not saying we should just up and get married again." He said. "But…I want to do more with you than have rough sex in forbidden places. Despite how appealing that is, I think…we should at least try, you know?"

"_I don't know…_"

"Please Natsumi." He said, sounding desperate, pressing the phone closer to his ear. He swore he heard her take in a sharp breath and try not to cry. He could even see it, something he'd seen many times when they were married. Her fingertips pressed to her lips and her eyes glistening from unshed tears, trying to hold it all together.

"_Alright._" She finally said, making him breathe out in relief. "_We can go out to dinner tonight if you're free. It's the only day I'm not on call this week. So if not, it'll have to be sometime next week._"

"Tonight is perfect." He pulled out his day planner and began to write everything down. "Do you want me to pick you up, or would you rather meet me there?"

"_No, I will meet you there. How does the Blue Lagoon sound? Seven o'clock?_"

"Sounds great." He smiled slightly. "I'll see you there."

"_See you._" She sighed and then the line went dead.

He placed his phone back on the receiver, returning his work with a smile on his face. It didn't matter that Natsumi was reluctant to the idea of him wooing her, the fact that she had agreed to even go to dinner with him meant that he would succeed in the end. At least, he hoped. Being married to someone for nine years gave you a certain advantage in knowing how to work a person, but he wasn't the only one with that advantage, and Natsumi was no idiot. That was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place.

Remembering that Toshiro had called him earlier, he sighed and picked up the phone, knowing that the redhead was going to give him an earful for hanging up on him.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Akito arrived at the Blue Lagoon fifteen minutes early and got them a nice secluded table in the back and instructing the host that his companion, a babe with short pink hair, would be there shortly. So, as he waited for Natsumi to arrive, he ordered a bottle of the same wine they had drank on their first date, and an appetizer of calamari.<p>

It wasn't too much later when the host returned with Natsumi following close behind. She had on a white cocktail dress that cut low and tied around her neck. It was tight around her chest and her waist and flowed freeing down to her knees. Akito had to keep the smirk from showing on his face, since he knew she had actually dressed up to meet him.

"Here you are Miss, please enjoy." He nodded, giving her a once over before leaving the two. She sat down and pulled her large purse off her shoulder and set it on the back of the chair.

"So." She nodded, lacing her fingers together and resting her hands on the table. "How was your day?"

"Pretty productive. I'm working on a huge case, but it's wrapping up really nicely." He told her, pouring them both a glass of wine and handing her one. "What about you? Was the hospital busy today?"

She shrugged and took the glass, sipping the delicious liquid. "Not too bad," She lifted the glass and examined it before glancing over at the bottle. "You are one pretty sly dog." She actually smiled. "It amazes me that you actually remember these things."

He returned her smile. "There are a lot of things I remember about the time we spent together."

"Like what?" she pressed, picking up some of the calamari and tossing it in her mouth.

"Like the garden you started at my apartment that I killed, and how upset you were." he smirked, taking a sip. "Or the time we were decorating the twins' bedroom when you were pregnant with them, and I flung paint across the room at you and we had that fight, and then had to redo an entire wall because it had splatters everywhere when we were done."

She set her glass down, staring at the table cloth with a small smile. "Yeah I remember that." With a fortifying breath, she dug around in her purse. "I, um, brought you something. That I thought you might like." She said softly, as she pulled out some things. She took two and placed them in front of him on the table. He glanced down and his eyes widened with surprise. There were two pictures sitting on the table, one was of Kanamé and the other was Izayoi. "I thought you might want a picture of them now." She placed another one down of Sanosuke and they all looked so happy.

"They grew so much." He said softly, picking up the pictures individually and looking at them, longing and sadness portrayed on his face from everything he missed. "How tall are they now?" he asked, looking back up at her."

"Kanamé is getting so big. I think he's taller than when you were that age." She laughed, becoming more animated when she talked about their children. "He has some problems at school, but just some attitude issues."

He continued to examine the pictures, seeing how all of his kids had changed. "So they're all keeping their grades up?" he asked, looking back at her.

She nodded. "Kanamé is a genius. And Izayoi is so creative. She loves to draw and write. Sanosuke usually keeps to himself." She told him, glancing down to the picture in her hands. It was of her and Hayate. They were both smiling and he looked absolutely perfect in his bliss. "Um…Akito. There's something I have to tell you. Back when I left-"

The waiter arrived then, interrupting her. "Have the two of you decided what you would like to eat for dinner?" he asked, looking to Natsumi first.

She looked a bit flustered and then examined the menu. "Uh yes. I'll have a filet, medium rare, and a side salad as well as a loaded baked potato."

"And you sir?" he turned to Akito.

"I want the steak, medium well, with a side of asparagus and mashed potatoes, hold the garlic." He said.

The waiter took their menus and nodded. "I'll have those right out to you." Then he left.

Akito looked back at Natsumi. "So, what made you say yes to coming to dinner with me?" he asked, his mind distracted by the waiter, so he didn't know she had been about to say anything more. She glanced back to him and shrugged.

"I don't know. Some insane force that _clearly_ likes to watch me suffer I suppose."

The corner of his mouth tilted a bit. "Aw, come on, I'm not _that_ bad."

She shook her head and took the glass once more, finishing it off. "Yes well, you would know, you were married to yourself for about six years."

"Do you always have to bring up old wounds and try to ruin the mood when we're together?" he asked, pouring her another glass.

"I can't pretend like it never happened. It did and it was the most heartbreaking moment of my life." She told him, glancing down once more. "Though…speaking of old…and about the past. I need to be honest with you, about what happened when we parted."

"It's not necessary. I know it was my fault, and you had every right to leave me." He said, waving off her explanation.

She grew a bit angry, trying not to crumple the picture in her hands. She knew he wasn't doing it not to hear her, but none the less it absolutely infuriated her when he interrupted her. "Akito that's not what I need to tell you."

"Your salad ma'am." The waiter said, seeming to come from nowhere. Natsumi sighed, giving up. Maybe this was a sign from the heavens warning her not to tell him about Hayate. After all, she knew his good mood would turn into absolute hatred. Taking the children was one thing, but not telling him about one for five years. She didn't even want to imagine the repercussions.

She placed the picture back in her bag and decided not to go further on the subject of her fourth child. "Anyways." She sighed, picking up her fork. "I've had to take Izayoi to a counselor, because she keeps writing the same line of stories for her classes. Or her drawings and it was very depressing. They wanted to medicate her for depression but I told them I wouldn't allow it."

"What?" Akito asked, worried. "Why? What has she been writing?"

"Well she kept writing this story about a princess who goes away from her kingdom and can't find her way back. And spends her nights crying on her balcony, because the prince won't come and rescue her." She sighed, looking downcast. "And when she went into counseling they tried to find the meaning of it, because it was nearly the same in everything. The doctors thought it was her crying out for you to come save her. But when they asked who the princess was…" her whole body tensed. "She told them it was me."

Akito looked down at the table. "I guess what she didn't know was that the prince tried." He said softly. "But the princess didn't want to be found, and eventually he gave up, because he figured she was happier without him."

"I didn't want to be found." She sighed, reiterating. "But that didn't mean I was happier. I was just less miserable."

"Well you always seemed so unhappy when I was around, I figured for once I should just give you what you wanted." He said, looking up at her. "How are they handling being back home?"

She shrugged once more, finishing up her salad. "Fine. Sanosuke doesn't really remember it so it's like a new place to him. The twins are good and bad. Depending if Izayoi goes on one of her rants or Kanamé gets in a fight at school. The other boys think he's being a show off cause he never talks to anyone really."

"Izayoi goes on rants?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah." She nodded. "She is my daughter after all. But man is she annoying."

He chuckled at that. "What does she rant about?"

"_Everything_."

"Well, I can't say that I envy you that."

Natsumi looked up and smiled slightly. "Yeah, but I love her. She's my little girl. The only one I got."

"Yeah." The corner of his mouth tilted up. "What about Sanosuke? How is he handling the third grade?"

"He's doing pretty well. Very smart. His teacher loves him and he's got a lot of friends and they like to play soccer after school." She told him as their food arrived and was placed in front of them.

"That's good." He said, beginning to cut into his steak. "So…is being a doctor everything you hoped it'd be?"

"Everything and more." She smiled, doing the same as they ate. "I love helping people, I make a lot of money and I can support the kids while being there for them whenever they need."

"I'm glad you finally got to reach your dream."

"Me too." She said happily. "So, how have you been? Slept with anyone? Married or dating?"

He snorted slightly. "Oh, the only woman I could ever stand living the rest of my life with is you, so no, I'm not married, nor am I dating. Over the years I've had a few flings, obviously, I mean, I have to get rid of my stress somehow, and exercising only gets you so far." He said. "But what about you? Are you in a relationship or anything?" he asked, tensing slightly as he tried to prepare himself for the answer.

She met his gaze, she couldn't lie, the fear she saw in them made her heart flutter. "I've been proposed to three different times. But I've never remarried. And when they see I won't, they usually break up with me. Which I don't mind. I don't think I could ever be married again. But other than that just a couple boyfriends here and there. Not a lot but some were pretty serious. They usually don't like that I put the kids first and that seemed to turn a few people off seeing as I have f…three." She lied, controlling her facial features.

"Well, if they get mad at you for being a good mother then there's no reason for you to give those douche bags your time anyways." He said.

"I didn't, I love the kids. They mean everything to me." She smiled, just thinking about her little ones. "Though I can't stay out too late, the sitter has homework and I don't want her to stay up."

"I figured." He said. They finished up their dinner, talking mostly about their children, Akito forcing himself not to say anything on wanting to see them even though he wanted to, now more than ever. Akito paid the bill and they both got up, heading towards the door together and waiting outside for the valet to bring their cars.

"Well this was nice and…civilized." She glanced up at him and then looked away.

"I had fun." He said, reaching out and gently grasping her chin to turn her face towards him. He kissed her tenderly. "It was nice to see you again Natsumi." He said as he pulled away.

"It was nice to see you as well. I'm glad I came to dinner with you. I almost forgot how charming you could be." She leaned against him slightly and then moved away as her car drove up. "See ya lawyer boy." She waved, blowing him a kiss before, she got into her car and drove off.

He smirked, getting into his car and driving away, glad that everything had gone so well. Now all he had to do was find a way to see his children. Because now that he had heard about the troubles they were going through, he wanted to help them as much as he could.


	6. Kidnapper

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Five_

-Kidnapper-

A few days later Akito stormed into his partner's office, a frown on his face. Knowing that his friend was about to start venting, Toshiro stopped working on his brief and sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. "So, what is upsetting you this time?" he asked.

"Your sister is upsetting me." He said, beginning to pace. "I mean, we went on a date other night, and it was great, but she still won't let me see the kids." He pulled out his wallet and took out the pictures she had given him, setting them on the desk.

"Look at how much they've grown. They have changed so much, and I don't even get to be there to see it. I'm sick of being kept in the dark. I deserve to get to know my kids. But I can't talk to her about it because every time I do, she gets all upset and defensive and then leaves, and I have to work hard just to get her to talk to me again."

"Well why won't she let you see them?" he asked.

"She thinks I'm still going to be a horrible father and won't let me drag the kids into something terrible like our marriage ever again." He sighed, rubbing his throbbing temple. "But she refuses to see all of the changes I've made in my life."

Toshiro laughed. "Well duh. You were great in the beginning. And that's exactly what she thinks, that it's going to be wonderful and then slowly dwindle into the miserable piece of crap you two called a marriage."

"Look." He stopped pacing and faced his friend. "I told her I wasn't looking to get married again. I just want to see them. You know, have visitation rights like any other divorced couple."

"You aren't just any divorced couple. This is _your_ ex-wife and your children. So you're not thinking clearly. Why don't you just…go and see them? If you don't want to get married again then who gives a damn what Natsumi thinks? She's a psychopath. Just go see your kids." The redhead told him with a shrug as he leaned back further in his chair, balancing himself.

"Yeah, but I don't know where they live. And while I could easily figure that out, she never leaves the kids home by themselves unless she has a sitter, and even then I highly doubt I'd be allowed in the house." He said.

"Then just pick them up from school. She asked me to do it today because her nanny couldn't. She had a doctor's appointment. You could just pick them up," Toshiro paused. "And then drop them off before Natsumi gets home and tell them it's you guys' secret."

"You think that would work?" he asked, thinking about it. It was perfect. "What school do they go to?"

Toshiro took out his blackberry and looked through his memo's writing the name of the school and the address on a sticky note. "Here you go," he leaned forward, holding out the paper to him. "You pick them up at the west entrance."

"Thanks a bunch. I owe you one." Akito said as he checked his watch and moved towards the door.

"No problem. But if you get caught, you better not rat me out. I don't wanna die. My wife actually still loves me." He smirked, shooing his friend away and silently praying that Natsumi didn't find out.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, leaving.

Later that day, when it was nearing time for him to get the kids, he left work and drove over to the school. It was a private school, so they could all be together. He parked in a spot in front of the west entrance, and waited until he saw the twins come out, both dressed in their uniforms, which consisted of grey slacks and a white button down shirt and in the girls' case grey skirts. They looked around, trying to spot their uncle. It shouldn't have been so difficult to find his bright red hair. "Where do you think he is?" Izayoi asked.

"Who cares." Kanamé sighed, pulling out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts to find his mom.

Akito got out of his car then and walked over to them, stopping a bit away. They didn't see him, each preoccupied with something else. "Hey kids." He greeted, not knowing what else to say.

Both twins looked over, their eyes widening for different reasons. "Dad?" Izayoi cried out, her face lighting up. She ran forward, dropping her messenger on the ground, wrapping her arms around him. "Why are you here? Mom said you probably moved from Boston!"

Kanamé just stared at his father, his surprise slowly shifting into a threatening glare. Akito noticed this, but look down to his daughter and returned her embrace. "Your Uncle Toshiro couldn't get you today, so I asked if I could."

Sanosuke, who was watching the entire thing a bit warily, walked until he was next to his older brother. He didn't quite remember this man, but there was something familiar about him. Was it true that this was really his father? "Dad?" he asked, hesitantly stepping forward.

Akito looked up and smiled. "Hey Sanosuke." he held his arm out, offering for him to join the hug. The young boy slowly came up to him and hugged him a bit awkwardly, tightening his grip when Akito's arm came around him. He may not remember this man very well, but there was something about the hug that felt safe, and right.

The trio hugged for a bit longer, until Akito straightened and pulled away from them slightly. He looked to Kanamé, whose glare had not lessened. "I don't suppose I should be expecting a hug from you." He said, knowing the answer.

"I wouldn't count on it." He said a bit bitterly and Akito couldn't help but see himself in his son, which brought him great grief. "What are you doing here? Does Mom know you're picking us up?"

"Aw who cares Kanamé." Izayoi huffed and then smiled again, hugging her dad once more. "I missed you so much Dad! It's been forever!"

He stroked his daughter's head, but continued to look at his eldest. "No, your mother doesn't know I'm here." He said. "She refused to let me see you, so I decided to go behind her back."

"But that will make her angry." Sanosuke said, looking up at his father. "And it's bad if you upset mom."

Akito smiled slightly. "Trust me, I know." He said with slight humor.

"You shouldn't be here." Kanamé said sharply, not easing up. He turned around then and shook her head, his black bangs falling over his eyes.

"Kanamé, where are you going?" Akito asked, stepping forward.

"I'm going to go get my brother and make sure he gets home." He snapped, not bothering to look back as he disappeared into the school to go to the Kindergarten wing.

Akito stiffened. "You…have another brother?" he asked softly, betrayal washing through him. Natsumi had had a child with another man? And she didn't even tell him?

"Yeah, his name is Hayate." Sanosuke said, picking up on his father's sudden shift in mood, but not understanding what caused it.

Izayoi took her father's hand and held it tightly. "Yeah! You'll love him! He's the sweetest thing. Mom loves him so much, he even sleeps with her sometimes cause he thinks she gets lonely."

Akito didn't say anything, he just stood there waiting to see Natsumi's fourth child. He still couldn't believe it. This was almost as bad as when she had left him and taken the kids with her.

Sanosuke and Izayoi looked to one another and then back up to their pale father, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "Dad?" Izayoi said, looking worried. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"I…didn't know your mother had another child." He said, trying to control his emotions so that he didn't freak them out.

"Yeah," Izayoi said, still confused. "She had him right after the divorce." This made his eyes widen, and his anger increased. So, she had moved on that quickly, huh? And yet she claimed that she always loved him. What a bunch of bull. "Oh look, there they are." She pointed towards the steps where Kanamé was helping a little dark haired boy step down so he didn't fall.

Akito's eyes widened even more when he got a look at the boy named Hayate. It wasn't some other man's child, it was _his_. Because Hayate looked exactly like him, even his eyes were the same color. And so, his anger at Natsumi increased. How dare she not tell him that she was pregnant when they had divorced, or even tell him the other night when they were talking about the kids that he had fathered another boy. A beautiful little boy that he knew nothing about.

And Kanamé was actually smiling down at him kindly, looking just like his mother and Hayate had that same joyous smile. They came closer and the young boy looked up at the man his siblings were around, his eyes wide and innocent. "Who are you?"

But before Akito could introduce himself Kanamé spoke up, "This, Hayate, is the man who makes Mommy cry." He told him. Hayate looked up to his older brother and then back to the man who looked like his siblings.

"Oh." Understanding dawned on him. "You're my Daddy." He pointed.

"Yeah." Akito said, sounding like he had just gotten the wind knocked out of him. "I am."

Hayate looked back up at his brother and then to his siblings, gauging the situation. He let go of his brother's hand then and ran forward. "Daddy!" he yelled, hugging Akito around the legs. Then he looked up at him. "Are we gonna get to see you all the time? Is mommy gonna be happier now? Can we go get ice cream? Cause' I kinda want some." He said quickly, everything just rushing out.

"Um…" he blinked, not sure exactly which question he was supposed to answer first. "If your siblings want to get ice cream we can." He said, picking the safest one.

Kanamé just shook her head and rolled his eyes. "I want to go home."

"Well _I_ think ice cream sounds awesome!" Izayoi smiled and ran back over to her bag, grabbing it from the ground and slinging it over her shoulder.

"No one cares what you think." He told his sister, earning him a fierce glare that then turned into a battle.

"I want to get ice cream too, so you're out numbered." Sanosuke crossed his arms, giving his older brother a serious look. "Besides, we don't know when we'll get to see dad again, so we should spend as much time with him as possible."

"Please Kanamé?" Hayate asked, pouting in an adorable fashion with his hands clasped in front of him.

Kanamé shifted his glare from Izayoi to Sanosuke and then looked down at his brother. "Hayate…" he sighed, deciding to play dirty. "You don't want to make Mommy cry do you? You know that Dad is the cause of her sadness. Don't you love Mommy?"

"Kanamé!" Izayoi went wide eyed.

"What?" he snapped, looking back to his sister. "Mom wouldn't want us to and it's all his fault that we had to move anyways." He pointed accusingly at Akito.

"Kanamé, please." She begged, giving him the same look Hayate and Sanosuke were.

He just growled. "Fine! Whatever. But you better take us home." He told Akito, staying strong, even though he was freaking out inside from the thought of talking back to his father. As much as he disliked the man, he was still his father and he knew he needed to be respectful.

Akito met his son's gaze. "I never said I would do otherwise son." He said with an air of authority. "Now let's go." He picked up Hayate and held him the way he used to hold Sanosuke, starting for his car. Izayoi ran up and took his hand in hers, and Sanosuke walked on the other side of them.

Kanamé rolled his eyes, following after them slowly, thinking only one thing. Mom was going to be pissed.

* * *

><p>"Can we go to the park next?" Hayate asked happily as he began to eat his ice cream. "Or maybe we could go see a movie!"<p>

Akito sighed. They were at the best ice cream parlor in the city, the same place he used to take the kids when they were younger, when he had the time. "Hayate, I have to take you home after this. If your mom finds out I even saw you guys today she'll probably have one of her crazy moments."

"We haven't been to the movies in while." Sanosuke commented, taking a drink of his shake. He didn't really feel like going home, and surprisingly enough, he didn't care if his mom freaked out. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen to them. They were with their dad after all.

"Dad can we see your house? I heard you were a big shot lawyer now and you were super rich! I bet you have a really cool house." Izayoi smiled, finishing off her ice cream cone.

"Oh yeah! Can we?" the youngest said, becoming excited and bouncing in his seat.

"Not unless Kanamé doesn't want to." Akito said. "It has to be a unanimous vote." Everyone looked to the eldest then, who had remained silent except for when he had ordered his ice cream.

Said boy glanced up from the place on the table he'd been staring for the past twenty minutes and sighed. "I don't think I need to voice my opinion, since it's pretty obvious."

Izayoi waved him off. "Dad, Kanamé is a kill joy. Let's just go! We don't have to stay long."

"He has a right to say what he wants, just as much as you Izayoi." He said. "Besides, he's right. I don't want to do anything more that will upset Natsumi."

"Why do you always have to be such an emo Kanamé?" Sanosuke asked with a frown.

Hayate looked at him curiously. "What is an emo?"

"It's someone who is always sullen and doesn't find joy in life." Sanosuke recited.

"Oh." The youngest said, nodding in agreement.

"I don't want to go. Mom's going to get mad." He said, choosing to ignore his siblings. He met his father's deep green gaze with an impassive jade. "I wanna go home."

"When everyone is done with their ice cream we will go home. I don't want to risk it getting all over the inside of my car." Akito said.

Izayoi glared at her brother and then her eyes began to water. "Kanamé why are you being so mean." She sniffed, beginning to cry, which got the eldest boy's attention quickly. "We haven't gotten to see Dad in five years. Why can't we just spend a little time with him?"

Kanamé's hard gaze seemed to somber up slightly and he looked down in defeat. "Fine." He said lowly, crossing his arms.

Sanosuke and Izayoi discreetly high fived each other underneath the table, and Akito smirked at his daughter's tactics. Yup, she was just like their mother.

Everyone finished eating shortly after, and then they got back in the car. "So, where are we going? Do you guys want to go to the movies, or see my house?" Akito asked.

"Your house!" all but Kanamé cheered, bubbling with excitement at their wonderful day that they would get to spend with their father.

* * *

><p>Natsumi walked into the kitchen through the door connecting to the garage and set the groceries as well as her purse on the counter. "Kids! I'm home!" she called into the massive house. "Come help me with the groceries!" she yelled, walking back out to her car and grabbing a few more bags. She returned back inside and set these on the counter as well.<p>

She looked around the beautifully decorated kitchen and frowned. "Kanamé! Izayoi!" Natsumi yelled once more, walking from the kitchen to the darkened hallway. That was odd. "Sanosuke?" she called, flipping on the lights and peering into the living room to see if they were watching TV. But nothing was on.

Cold fear washed over her as she hurried to the steps, taking two at a time. "Hayate?" she shrieked, panic seizing her. She threw open the door to her youngest's room and hit the light switch, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Kanamé! Izayoi! Sanosuke!" she shouted as if repeating their names would make them appear. She burst into each of their rooms only to find them empty. "Oh my god!" she flew down the steps and ran into the kitchen, digging her cell phone from her bag and dialing 9-1-1.

It seemed to take forever for the call to connect. She didn't understand. She'd seen her brother earlier and he told her he'd dropped them off at the house, just as he was instructed to do. What could have possibly happened in the past hour? And there was no sign of forced entry. All the doors were still locked. None of their school things were even there. Finally she heard a voice.

"_Please state your emergency_."

"My children have been kidnapped!"


	7. Apprehended

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Six_

-Apprehended-

Akito smiled as he and the kids were playing monopoly in his large living room. They had come to his house and he'd shown them around, delighting in the fact that they were in awe, even Kanamé, though he would never admit it. At the moment Hayate was winning, mostly because they had modified the rules so that he could play as well. It felt so nice to be having fun with them all, and it almost felt to Akito as if they hadn't been apart for those five years.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and everyone looked to the foyer. "I'll get it, you kids stay here." Akito said, standing and walking over there. He opened the door, and grew confused when he saw two uniformed officers standing on his doorstep.

"Can I help you officers?" he asked politely.

"Yes sir. Are you Uchiha Akito?" one asked.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

The other grimaced. "And do you drive a 2010 black Lamborghini?"

"Yes. Can you tell me what's going on?" he asked, looking from one officer to the other.

"We just have one more question sir," the taller officer said. "We're you at Winsor this afternoon?" he asked, then heard some childish laughter from inside the house.

"Yes. I was picking up my kids from school." Akito answered. "Is there a problem with that?"

"There is." They nodded and one took out a pair of handcuffs. "Uchiha Akito, you are under arrest for kidnapping four children." They informed him, grabbing him by the arm and handcuffing his hands behind his back.

"What?" he looked behind him at the officer that was fastening the handcuffs. "You can't arrest me for picking up my own children." He said. "Last time I checked that wasn't a crime."

"I'm going to fucking _kill _you Akito." A dark and hate filled voice came from the doorway, causing his blood to run cold in his veins.

Four heads popped out from the doorway, all wide eyed. "Dad…" Izayoi trailed off. "What's going on?" she asked, stepping out.

The officer cleared his throat, giving Akito a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry sir, but without a signed consent to the school, no one aside from Sabaku no Natsumi and Inuzuka Yuri are allowed to pick them up. We had consent for Sabaku no Toshiro to get them. But it is against the law for you to take them without permission."

"I told you not to go near them Akito!" Natsumi shouted at him.

Akito blinked, looking at Natsumi. She had changed her name back? Hurt stabbed through him, but was quickly replaced by his earlier anger. "Well I was tired of you keeping them from me!" he yelled. "You didn't even tell me Hayate existed, so you have no right to be angry." He glared at her with more hate than she had seen on his face before. "It sucks to come home to an empty house, doesn't it? And not know where your family is?" he said lowly.

"I _left_ for a reason! You didn't give a damn about me or the kids!" she yelled back. "And don't pretend like you did, everything was second to work. They were better off with me! And what you did was kidnapping! You stole my children! And I _tried_ to tell you about Hayate when you took me out on that date, but you interrupted me like twice and the god damned waiter kept interrupting me. What was I supposed to do?"

"You went on a date with dad?" Izayoi asked from the doorway, completely shocked.

Even Kanamé looked surprised. "Is that why you bought that new dress?"

"You bought a new dress for our date?" Akito asked, but then shook his head. "Never mind. And, legally, you can't call it kidnapping when they are my children as well, and they came with me willingly. Sure, I didn't follow the school's protocol, but they should supervise the kids better than just some measly video cameras. So in general, there is no ground for me to be arrested, especially since I have cooperated with the officers in full."

"I didn't come willingly." Kanamé said, trying to help his mother.

Natsumi looked over to her children and her expression sobered. "Hayate!" she gasped, seeing her son looking scared.

The little boy ran forward and hugged his mother around the legs, his wide, forest green eyes on his father. "Mommy, why are they taking daddy away?" he asked. "We were having fun."

She picked up her son and held him tightly to her. "Sweetheart. Daddy was not supposed to take you." She told him, sounding kind and motherly.

"Ma'am." The officer spoke up, getting Natsumi's attention. "I'm afraid he's right. There's nothing really to charge him for. The kids are safe and everything seems in order."

Natsumi grimaced, meeting Akito's gaze with one that told him he was going to pay for this. She looked back down to Hayate and examined him. "Honey. Are you sure you're ok. Did Daddy do anything to you? You know how he is, he didn't…._touch_ you…did he?"

Kanamé, Izayoi, and Sanosuke all went wide eyed, staring at their mother with shocked expressions. This question seemed to make the police officers tense and they glared down at Akito.

"Uh huh!" he said ignorantly, nodding his head. Akito went wide eyed.

"Natsumi…" he said warningly, knowing where she was going with this.

She looked away from him and the officers jerked him towards the door. "That's just _sick_. You are under arrest again for molesting a child. You have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you…" they trailed off, reading him his Miranda rights which he already knew by heart.

Natsumi stayed with her back to the door, holding in the sob that almost broke out. What had she done? She'd just accused Akito of touching Hayate inappropriately. She knew it wasn't true and she knew she had used Hayate's innocence to do it. But she was angry. How could he take her children like that? And to think she was hours away from calling him to tell him they should all meet. She shook her head and was snapped from her thoughts by Hayate's worried voice. "Mommy?"

Kanamé actually ran out the door, "Dad!" he yelled for the first time, stopping on the walkway to see the officers shoving his father into the back of the squad car.

Akito looked back at his children, his gaze landing on Kanamé. "Everything will be fine son." Were the last words he said as the door to the car was shut. The officers got in then and drove away, with Akito looking at his children through the back window the entire way, until they were out of sight.

Natsumi walked out of the house with Izayoi and Sanosuke, closing the door behind her. "Come on kids. Get in the car." She said, walking around the side of her SUV and buckling Hayate into his booster seat. Kanamé still stared after where the car disappeared and then turned back to his mother, taking the front seat without a word.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." Sanosuke said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Natsumi looked down at her son, "Get in the car Sanosuke." She warned. She did not have the mental stability right now to deal with this.

"Fine, but I'm not talking to you." He glared at her, one that could rival her own, and got in the car, buckling his seatbelt before crossing his arms once more.

She slammed the door once everyone was in and got into the driver's seat starting the car. They drove in silence, but Natsumi didn't really care. She was glad her kids were safe and it gave her time to attempt to compose herself. Once they were home, all of the kids, aside from Hayate went straight to their rooms. Natsumi finished putting the groceries away and then picked up Hayate and took him upstairs to his room.

She tucked him in and kissed his forehead, watching him already doze off since it was past his bedtime. "I love you Hayate. You know that right?" she asked, her eyes watering once more.

"Yes mommy." He said sleepily. "I love you too. So does daddy." He yawned. Natsumi had to choke back a sob and shook her head.

"Not anymore he doesn't sweetie. Mommy did something bad." She whispered.

"But you said love was un…uncon…ditional." He murmured, having to think about what the word was.

She leaned over him and kissed his forehead once more. "I don't think it is this time. I love you Hayate." She told him again and then left the room after turning off the light. She went to Kanamé's room and peeked her head in to see him already in bed. She walked over to him and kissed his head. "Why did you do that Mom…?" he asked, not moving to look at her.

"I…I don't know Kanamé. I was angry…your Dad just…makes me feel out of control." She admitted.

He nodded. "I know, but…"

"I know. I'll fix this somehow." She told him, running her fingers through his hair.

"I love you Mom." He said, turning a bit to see her. Her eyes widened slightly and this caused a stray tear to slide down. "And I know…that you still love him."

She shook her head. "No…I clearly don't understand what love truly is anymore." She tried to give him a smile. "Sleep well Kanamé." She kissed him once more and then left the room, going to Izayoi's.

As soon as she entered the room, her daughter threw a pillow at her, just narrowly missing her face. "Get out!" Izayoi yelled. "How could you do that to Dad? I hate you! I never want to see you again! The second dad gets out I'm telling him I want to live with him!" she screamed. "He's a lawyer he can make it happen."

Natsumi shook her head. "Izayoi, please, you have to understand-"

"I don't have to understand anything! You're a psycho! No wonder Dad didn't like you! You made him not want us!" she shouted, tears staining her cheeks.

"Izayoi!" Natsumi screamed back.

"No! You leave me alone! I hope you end up all alone! Cause we all like Dad and he wants us! He just doesn't want you!" she yelled, making Natsumi go wide eyed.

"Go to bed!" she ordered, slamming the door behind her. Natsumi leaned against the wall, sliding down slowly, until she was sitting down and began crying into her hands. This was horrible. Akito was in jail, her children practically hated her, and she was falling apart. Why did he have to do this to them? If he had just waited, just a bit longer, than none of this would have ever happened. She couldn't even believe she'd done this to him. What kind of monster was she?

Hearing the commotion, since his room wasn't far away, Sanosuke opened his bedroom door and looked into the hall. Seeing his mom crying, he walked over to her, stopping when he was in front of her. He knew he had told her he wasn't speaking to her, but he didn't like seeing his mom cry. And he knew that she was sorry she had sent his dad to jail, otherwise she wouldn't be so upset. "Mom…?" he asked softly.

Natsumi sniffed and looked up from her hands, trying to wipe the wetness from her face. "Oh God Sanosuke. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I wasn't asleep. I was waiting for you to come and say goodnight, like you always do." He said. "But then I heard the yelling."

She looked as if she were about to cry again. "I'm so sorry Sanosuke." She swallowed, taking a hold of his hand and pulling him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"I know." He said, hugging her. "I love you mom, but I wish that you and dad were nicer to each other. I want to have a real family again."

She hugged him more tightly. "Things just aren't that simple sweetheart." She whispered painfully. "I love you, with all my heart and I was just scared tonight." She told him, cupping his face in her hands.

"I know mom."

She kissed his forehead and got up, walking with him to his room and tucking him in. "I love you." She told him once more. She turned off the light and closed his door, finally heading downstairs to her own bedroom. She changed into a loose shirt and curled up into her large bed, staring at the wall. She hugged a pillow to her body closely and closed her eyes as she began to cry once more. "Oh Akito…I'm so sorry…" she sobbed, crying herself to sleep for what seemed like the thousandth time.

* * *

><p>Akito harshly punched in the numbers for Toshiro's cell phone and listened as it began to ring. He hoped the redhead answered the phone quickly, because he was dying to get out of this hellhole.<p>

By the time they had arrived at the police station it was dark. But that didn't stop the officers from taking him into a room for questioning, where they had interrogated him about his true relationship with his kids. He had explained very calmly, surprisingly enough, and had then told them just exactly who he was, and how pissed he was that they had taken him in without any real evidence. They hadn't even asked Hayate just how he had touched him, and so technically the officers were in the wrong.

By the time that was established, it would be morning in a few hours, and so they had put him in a cell, saying he could have his phone call in the morning. Well, he was with quite a few questionable people, since they hadn't given him his own cell, so he had stayed up all night, not wanting to get raped or anything.

So, here he was, seven in the morning, no sleep, no coffee, and pissed like there was no tomorrow, waiting for his stupid partner to answer his phone.

"_Yola_." The answer was annoyingly perky, as his best friend usually was. "_Sup Akito? Have fun with the kids yesterday?_"

"Oh shut up you bastard." Akito growled, his anger increasing at the mention of his kids. "I need you to come and bail me out of jail."

"_Why are you in jail?_"

"Because your fucking sister called the cops on me and told them I kidnapped the children. Then, when I told them they had no legal ground to arrest me, since I'm their father, she lied and told them that I touched Hayate inappropriately." He explained. "So if you could just get your ass over here that would be great, because I would really like a shower."

Toshiro just laughed, "_Ok. I guess I can come get you._" He said before hanging up. Not even thirty minutes later, the door to the holding area opened and Toshiro walked in, dressed for business in a black suit. "Well, well, well. This is pretty amusing if I do say so myself." Toshiro snickered. He was followed by two officers, who came and unlocked the cell and told him he was free to go.

"Don't make me hurt you." Akito glared, marching right out of his cell and towards the entrance. Once they were out of the station they got in Toshiro's car. "I'm going to sue those cops for misconduct." He said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Toshiro sighed and got in, heading away from the station. "Don't get your panties in a bunch it sounds like a pretty messed up situation. Give 'em a break. Besides I can't help but feel this is partially my fault." He glanced over at his friend. "I told Natsumi I dropped the kids off at the house…so she assumed they were really there."

"I don't care. I'm going to make them regret this. And after that, I'm going to kill Natsumi. I have it all figured out too, so that it looks like an accident." He said seriously, a half crazed look coming to his face that Toshiro had never seen before. He didn't know if it was from lack of sleep, or just the traumatic experience of his friend being in jail, but it put him at unease.

"You just need a shower, some food, and a nap. Stop talking like a psychopath. Do you really want to be one of those men you put away for murdering their wives. That always used to really get to you."

"Yeah but this is different." He said. "And this way I can't be caught, because I know the ins and outs of the system. They'll never suspect me. And then, as the kids' father, I will get custody of them, and see them all the time. It's full proof." He punched his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"And you think they'll be happy? With their mother dead?" Toshiro asked, trying to keep his tone calm and steady as to not further agitate the crazy sitting beside him.

It looked like Akito was about to say something, and then he sighed, crossing his arms and pouting like a child. "No." he looked at his lap.

Toshiro let out a relieved sigh, seeing the sense back on his friend's face. "Look. I've got an idea. But you need to talk to her. And I mean talk. Not yell or scream. I'll get her to let you have the kids tomorrow. You rest today, relax and have fun with them tomorrow, and then talk to her. You need to be as stable as possible when you talk to my sister, cause she kinda makes you crazy."

"I don't know if she'll agree…" he trailed off. "She pretty much hates me."

"Akito, you and I both know, my sister has been in love with you since she was like six. That doesn't just go away. Not even after five years. Plus, I'll talk her into it. I'm a pretty darn good lawyer too you know." He smirked giving his friend a smirk.

"Fine." He sighed, rubbing his head. "Just take me home and I'll let you handle it."

"Good." He smiled, turning down his street. "You just take the day to relax. Everything will be all better by the end of the week."

Akito got out of the car when they pulled up to his house and went inside. He was about to head upstairs, when he passed the living room and saw their game of monopoly still on the floor. His chest ached then, as all of his old hurts came back. His eyes narrowed. Sure, he wasn't going to kill Natsumi, but that didn't mean he couldn't pull a little prank on her to teach her a lesson for what she did.

Smirking to himself as he went up to get a shower, Akito planned out just what he was going to do to her.


	8. Fun Day

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Seven_

-Fun Day-

That Friday Akito pulled up to Natsumi's house around ten. Turning off his car, he got out and walked up to the door, ringing the bell. Toshiro had talked to her about letting him see the kids, and she had actually agreed.

As he stood there waiting, he took off his aviators and hung them on his white t-shirt. Today he had taken the day off of work to take them to the amusement park, and so was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt, with some tennis shoes. He figured that would be a fun thing to do, even for the twins, because no matter what age you are amusement parks are still fun.

The door opened and he was met with his best friend's smile. "Hey Akito!" Toshiro laughed and allowed him into the luxurious abode.

"Hey." He said as he entered and looked around the place, having never been there before. "Where's Natsumi?" he asked, half expecting her to be there, and yet glad that she wasn't, since he was still mad at her for what she had done. But it was okay, because his revenge was going to be perfect.

"She had to go to work early so I told her I'd come over and watch the kids until you got here." He told him, walking into the kitchen and opening up the fridge. "You want anything to drink?"

"No thanks. Are the kids up?"

"Yeah, they're getting ready." The redhead sighed and closed the door to the fridge, holding a bottle of water. "So I was given a list of conditions by Natsumi before she left. She wants me to read them to you…" he trailed off, seeing Akito's irritated façade.

"And they are?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Toshiro went over to the counter and picked up a piece of paper. "Ok, first is: make sure that Hayate is within your sight at all times. Since he likes to run off and investigate shiny things."

"Ok."

"Second, keep the twins at least three feet apart."

"As always."

"Third, when you feed them lunch it better at least be somewhat good for them. Try not to put anything fried into the kids. And Hayate is allergic to mushrooms."

"She expects me to find somewhat healthy food at a theme park?" he asked, incredulous. "Has she even been to one? They practically only sell fried foods."

"She wrote: snacking is fine, but there better be a meal near lunch for them. Why don't you just take them out of the park to a restaurant? All you have to do is get stamped and you can come right back in." he told his friend.

Akito sighed. "I guess, but it's not the same if you don't get a jumbo dog and a soda with funnel cake."

"Akito…just do it." Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Do you really want to shove your kids full of synthetic crap?"

"Fine, I will take them to a restaurant."

"Fourth, make sure if they get tired you give them time to rest and put plenty of sunscreen on them."

"Okay."

"Fifth, make sure they drink lots of water to stay hydrated."

"Uh huh."

"Sixth, and this one is for you, don't go on too many loop rides in a row, since you know your stomach sometimes gets restless." Toshiro smiled. "Awwww. That's kind of sweet."

"Shut up." He pouted, looking off, though a slight pink was on his cheeks.

"Oh, the seventh one is for you too. Make sure you do those hand exercises after the rides since you get really tense and it makes your muscles sore later on. So don't strain yourself."

"Is there anything else?" Akito asked, beginning to feel embarrassed at Natsumi's reminders for him, though he knew he would forget if she hadn't.

He nodded and set the paper down, "This morning, she told me that if you wanted…they could spend the night at your house."

His eyes widened. "Really? That would be great."

"Sounds good." Toshiro laughed and walked out of the kitchen and towards the steps. "Hey punks! You're staying the night at your dads so grab your bags!"

Akito followed him, hearing the patter of quickly moving feet, and he assumed they were all hurrying to get their things together. "Hi dad!" Hayate yelled as he appeared at the top of the steps, a backpack almost as big as he was dragging on the floor behind him.

"Hayate, what is that?" Akito asked, raising a brow.

"It's my bag of stuff for tonight." He said, pushing it so that it bounced loudly down the stairs. "I have to be prepared for anything."

Izayoi and Kanamé stared down at him, their packs on their backs. "Hayate, you didn't need to bring all your toys. It's only one night and we're not even going to be there long. We're going to an amusement park." Izayoi rolled her eyes and ran down the stairs, hugging her dad tightly. "Dad! I missed you! Are you ok? Did you go to jail? Was it cold? You didn't get raped did you?"

"I missed you too, I did go to jail, it was actually a little stuffy, and no, I did not get raped." He said, returning his daughter's embrace. "How has my little angel been?"

"Horrible." She frowned. "I've been stuck with the wicked witch from the west. I want to come live with you." She told him. "Not just for one night."

He sighed, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "Well that is something your mother and I will have to discuss, since you are a minor." He said.

"But sissy!" Hayate said, having finally made his way down the stairs. "I'll miss you!" he hugged her around the legs.

"Yeah well Mom's a bitc-"

"Izayoi!" Toshiro scolded, actually glaring, which silenced the young girl instantly.

"I don't want to hear you say that about your mother." Akito said, frowning down at his daughter. "Especially around your younger siblings."

"You and I both know she is." She whined, seeing he wasn't letting up. "Yes sir." She looked away and released him as Kanamé and Sanosuke finally came downstairs.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Akito asked, seeing that they all had their bags.

"Yeah." Sanosuke sighed.

Hayate nodded excitedly. "Uh huh! I wanna ride as many rides as I can until I puke!"

"I don't think that's as much fun as it sounds son." Akito said, giving him a skeptical look. Thank God amusement parks only had a small selection of kid rides that he could go on. None of which would cause him to toss his cookies.

"Yeah we're ready." Kanamé said, walking out the front door with Izayoi behind him. Sanosuke and Hayate followed them and they all stopped dead in their tracks, horrified by what they saw.

Toshiro and Akito came out then and even Toshiro mirrored the kid's expressions. "What the hell is that?" the redhead asked pointing at the brand new minivan in the drive way.

"A queer's mobile, that's what." Sanosuke said with a sigh.

"What?" Akito huffed, looking at his best friend. "I couldn't very well drive them around in the Lamborghini. The last time we tried that, they were all squished. Isn't this what people with lots of kids have?"

"Mom has an Escalade." Kanamé said, ashamed that he would be riding in that vehicle.

"Yeah, well, this was the least queer van they had. At least it's fancy." Akito said, hitting a button on his keys and causing the doors and trunk to open, so that the kids could put their stuff away. They did so and Kanamé took the front and Sanosuke took one of the center two. Izayoi looked around the car and grimaced. "Dad don't you have a booster seat?" she asked, since she hadn't seen one in the trunk or in the back.

Akito grimaced. "Uh…does your mom have an extra one?" he asked, since it hadn't occurred to him that Hayate would need one. When he and Natsumi had been married, he'd never taken Sanosuke anywhere, and so he didn't know that they needed booster seats in a car.

"I'll get it." Toshiro held up his hand and went back into the house, brining it out and helping Izayoi strap it into the middle seat in the back. "There we go."

"Come here Hayate." Izayoi called, helping her little brother in and buckling him up. Once he was secure she got in beside Sanosuke and buckled up.

"Bye Uncle Toshiro." They all called, waving at him as the redhead closed the door.

He sighed, glancing to his friend. "I hope you have a great day with them Akito. And Minako and I are taking the kids on Sunday so that you and Natsumi can talk things over."

"Thanks. I'll see you then." Akito said, walking around the car and getting in. He put on his aviators and started the van, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the park. They arrived shortly afterwards, and everyone filed out of the car.

"Wow!" Hayate said, holding Sanosuke's hand as he looked at all of the rides. "This place looks awesome!"

"What are we going to ride on first?" Kanamé asked, following after their father, with Izayoi beside her.

"Whatever you guys want to ride." Akito said.

"Let's go on that one!" Izayoi pointed to the largest and tallest one in the park.

"Okay." They all walked inside and bought their tickets, entering the park. They headed over towards the ride, and Akito stood in line with the kids. Hayate was too small to ride this one, but that was fine. He was amused enough just by watching it over and over again.

The kids rode a few rides, and Hayate rode all of the kid ones in the kid zone. For lunch they left the park and went to one of the restaurants across the street, returning to the park after waiting for a bit so that the kid's stomachs could settle. Akito did his job well, making sure they had plenty of sunscreen and water, and when the sun began to set, they headed back to Akito's mansion.

"Alright kids, you go ahead upstairs and pick the room you want to stay in while I go start dinner." Akito instructed as they entered the house. They all headed upstairs and Kanamé was the first one back down. He came into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools at the island.

"Dad, I've got a question for you."

"What is it Kanamé?" Akito asked, looking over as he cut up fresh vegetables to put in the soup.

"Are you and Mom going to get back together?"

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board halted, and Akito sighed. "I don't know." He said softly. "I would like that to be the case, but after I ruined everything the first time, I highly doubt your mom will take me back."

"Well how come you stopped loving her the first time?"

"I never stopped loving her, I just…forgot how much I did." He shrugged, trying to explain it better.

He leaned over the island, playing with a napkin and then began folding it into some origami animal. "Why did you forget?"

"I got so caught up in work and trying to move up in the company…I thought that if I could just get that next promotion, I would be able to give you kids and your mom the lives you deserved. And then, once I did get moved up a bit, I never thought it was enough. But I was so tired when I came home…and I didn't realize how stressful things were on her." He explained, putting the vegetables in the broth and setting them on the stove as he got out the noodles to make the spaghetti.

"When Mom took us away, she cried a lot." Kanamé said sadly, poking at the counter.

He broke the noodles in half and put them in a pot of boiling water, beginning to make the sauce. "I figured." He said. "I…tried to find you guys you know."

"I assumed as much. Especially since for about a year we continued to move every two months. She said she didn't want you to find us. But I think deep down, she really did. She was just scared." He shrugged, getting up from the stool and opening the fridge to get some water.

"It was probably for the best." He said, mixing the sauce. "I wasn't exactly the most stable person after you guys left, and I don't think things would have ended very well." He turned and put the garlic bread in the oven.

He closed the fridge and drank from the water bottle. "I know. I can remember it all. I just thought…that you didn't love her anymore because all you ever did was leave and it made me sad because if you didn't love her, how could you possibly love us? But," he shook his head and looked to the door to see Izayoi coming in with Hayate chasing after her.

"Daddy! Daddy!" he cried out happily. "Look what I did for you!" he said.

Izayoi moved away from him, her hands up in the air as if he were under arrest. "I didn't know I swear!"

Hayate held up one of Akito's best white button down shirts and showed it to his father. All over the front was a messy picture drawn with sharpie.

Akito's eye twitched, but he smiled anyways. He could always buy a new one, it wouldn't be hard to buy a new one. "Wow Hayate…it looks great. Thanks."

"You really like it?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"I love it." he said.

"Yay! I'll go make another one!" the young boy exclaimed as he ran from the room. Akito's eyes widened.

"Izayoi, would you please find something else to occupy Hayate? Dinner is almost done, and I would rather not have to go and buy an entire new wardrobe of work shirts." He asked her.

She shrugged and followed after her brother leisurely. Kanamé was wide eyed and looked up at his father. "Dad! You can't praise him for bad behavior!"

Akito just blinked. "But…he would have cried if I told him I didn't like it." then he hit himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand. "Man, I am so out of practice it's not even funny." He muttered.

"Seriously, you're kinda helpless without Mom." He laughed.

Sanosuke ran in then. "Hey dad, can I have some chocolate?" he asked.

"After dinner." Akito told him, resuming his cooking.

"Okay!" he ran out of the room. Izayoi came in once more.

"Hey Dad. You and Mom went on a date right?"

"Yes." He said, stirring the sauce once more and then moving to check on the noodles.

"Did you have sex?"

Hayate walked back in, holding more of Akito's shirts and two pairs of his pants that were covered in glitter and yellow paint and more sharpie drawings. "What's sex?" he asked, stopping by Akito's side and offering him up his master pieces.

"Something you won't learn about until you are a lot older." Akito said, taking the clothes from his youngest and laying them on the counter.

Sanosuke came back in. "I know what sex is." He said. "Can I have a piece of candy?"

"After dinner. And how do you even know that?" Akito asked.

"I read." Was all the boy said.

"Ima go make more of daddy's clothes beautiful." Hayate said adorably walking away and back out of the room.

Izayoi sat down on one of the stools as Kanamé did as well. "You didn't answer my question Dad." She pointed out.

"Can I have a brownie?" Sanosuke asked.

"After dinner."

"Okay." He left. Akito looked at his daughter.

"Of course we did. We had to have all of you guys didn't we?"

"No." she said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I meant after your date."

"No, we didn't. We're divorced, remember?" he returned to stirring the sauce, and he turned the noodles down to a low simmer, since they were almost done.

"So you guys haven't had sex since you got divorced?" she pestered.

He turned and looked at her. "Why do you even want to know this kind of stuff? You shouldn't even know what sex is." He pointed at her with the spoon he had been using to stir the sauce.

Kanamé looked to his sister with a devious smirk. "I take that as a yes."

She nodded. "A very solid yes."

"Think it was that night she came home from uncle Toshiro's all dazed?"

They both looked to him then, waiting for an answer. "I plead the fifth." Was all he said as he turned around and took the noodles off the stove, moving to the sink to drain the water from the pot. Sanosuke ran back in.

"Hey dad, can I have a lollipop?"

"After dinner."

"Okay!" he ran back out.

The next thing they knew Hayate was running in, screaming at the top of his lungs, with Sanosuke after him. "Daddy!" Hayate yelled. "The curtains are on fire!"

"What?"

Sanosuke paled. "I'm sorry! I didn't know he was going to actually use the lighter. I wouldn't have taught him if he was going to use it!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Akito yelled, running and grabbing his pitcher of water from the fridge. He went into the living room and splashed it on his flaming curtains, dousing the flames instantly. When the smoke cleared, Akito saw that they had been ruined, and he groaned. He walked back into the kitchen and looked at the two youngest kids. "And just why did you think it would be okay to allow a five year old to play with a lighter?" he asked Sanosuke.

"Um…seemed like good idea…at the time." He shrugged. Akito sighed and held his hand out to Hayate, who placed the lighter in it sheepishly.

"Thank you." He said, placing it on top of the fridge. Then he looked at them. "Okay, you two go and get some towels from one of the bathrooms, and dry up the water. Then put them in the hamper when you're done. Once that is finished, pick a seat at the table and park it." he ordered, pointing at them both. They nodded, and Sanosuke grabbed Hayate's hand before they ran from the kitchen.

Akito sighed. "Don't. Say. Anything." He said to the twins before walking over and putting the now drained noodles in a bowl before stirring the sauce once more and turning off the stove, his earlier mixed vegetables done cooking as well.

"DAD!" they heard Sanosuke yell. Kanamé and Izayoi looked to one another and then back to their father.

"Want me to call Mom?" Kanamé asked.

"No, I got this." Akito said, running from the kitchen and to his bedroom, where he had heard Sanosuke's voice come from. He stopped when he was just inside the doorway. "What?" he asked, somewhat in alarm.

Hayate was jumping around on the king sized bed, throwing feathers around in the air, the entire room looking as if it had just snowed. Hayate was hitting the walls and bed with a nearly empty pillow. Akito's eyes widened. "Hayate!" he said sternly, causing the little boy to stop and go completely wide eyed.

Akito walked over until he was in front of him, eye level with the small boy since Hayate was standing on the bed. "What did I tell you to do?" he asked, his voice still serious.

"To…dry up the water." He said, his lower lip trembling a bit.

"And did you do it?" Akito raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips. Hayate shook his head, water beginning to pool at the corner of his eyes. "Then what is it that you need to do right now?"

"Tell you I'm sorry?" he asked, sounding hopeful that it was the right answer.

Akito nodded. "And?"

"And…that I love you?" he said, his identical eyes wide. Akito smiled slightly, unable to really stay mad at him. He was just too adorable.

"Thank you. Now, give me this," he took the pillow case from him. "And go help Sanosuke with the water." He picked him up and placed him on the ground. "I don't want you to touch anything else until you are done, is that understood?" he asked, crouching down so that he was looking into his son's face.

"Yes daddy." Hayate nodded and looked to the floor a bit shamefully.

"Now go on, dinner is almost done." He pat Hayate's bottom and sent him on his way, Sanosuke following after his brother. Akito walked back into the kitchen and took the garlic bread out of the oven. He sighed as he began to cut it. "I honestly don't know how your mother does it." he commented, beginning to make Hayate a plate of food, since he wouldn't be able to serve himself.

"Because she's amazing." Kanamé shrugged and got up, making himself a plate as well. Izayoi did the same and nodded.

"She does always remember everything and what day it's on and what time."

Akito made Sanosuke a plate as well, and carried them into the dining room, the twins behind him. "She always was better at those things." He set the plates down. "Kanamé, will you go check on your brothers, and if they're done, tell them that dinner is ready?" he asked, heading back into the kitchen to get them all something to drink.

"But isn't that just a generic mom thing?" Izayoi asked, twirling her fork around in the noodles as Kanamé went off into the other room to bring his brother's in.

"They do say moms have super powers." Akito said, setting down two glasses of water and then going back for his own plate. When he came back everyone was seated at the table and eating, so he took his place at the head and did so as well. "Does it taste alright to everyone?" he asked, taking a bite.

Hayate looked over at him with his cheeks stuffed full of noodles and began to speak, all of it sounding muffled.

"I didn't know you knew how to cook." Was all Sanosuke said, eating his vegetables. Then Hayate spit his food back onto his plate so that he could be heard.

"It's great!" he exclaimed, re-shoveling the food back into his mouth.

"Hayate, smaller bites, or you'll choke." Akito ordered, causing the young boy to spit it all out once more and put in one noodle to eat at a time.

"It's good." The twins replied together. The rest of dinner was spent listening to Hayate go on and on about how great the amusement park was, since it was his first time going, and everyone else talking about some of the funnier moments. After dinner Akito washed the dishes and had told the two youngest to get dressed in their pajamas. He heard screaming then, and quickly closed the dishwasher, going into the living room, where Sanosuke was chasing Hayate around, pretending to be a monster.

"Kids, knock it off." He said. "Where are you even getting all of this sudden energy from?"

"From the chocolate, and the brownies, and the lollipop, and the candy." Sanosuke said, not letting up in his chase. When they ran by him he grabbed Sanosuke by the arm, halting his movements.

"And why did you eat that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sanosuke blinked. "You said I could have it all after dinner." Akito mentally cursed. Little swindler, that's what his son was.

"Well, don't get your brother too wound up. It's almost time for you all to go to bed anyways." He let go and straightened.

"Too late! I gave him some of my dessert!" Sanosuke yelled, resuming in his earlier pursuit. Hayate shrieked and began to run once more, and eventually both children were running in circles around Akito, who was repeatedly hitting his head on the wall, cursing himself for being so stupid.

The TV then turned on in the living room, the volume on max as Izayoi began dancing to what was playing on MTV. Kanamé just sighed and grabbed the cordless phone on the wall, "I should probably call Mom, this place it out of control."

Akito looked over at him. "No. I don't need her help. Then she'll just be all, 'I told you so' in that annoying way that she always does, and she'll never let me live it down." He said.

"Yeah but-"

"No buts!" Akito threw his hands in the air. "I can handle this."

Kanamé shook his head. "If you say so."

Akito looked at his watch and saw that it was only just now turning eight fifteen, since they had had dinner at seven thirty. He looked at Kanamé, ignoring Sanosuke and Hayate, who had moved their game of chase into the living room, where they were running around Izayoi. "What time does everyone usually go to bed? I know it's the weekend, but I don't want to throw you off your sleep schedule."

"Really?" Kaname asked, glancing over at him. "That's your excuse?"

"Not wanting your mother to get mad at me because I let you stay up too late is not an excuse." Akito said, crossing his arms. "Besides, you used to have bedtimes when you were younger, even on weekends."

Izayoi looked over from her spot resting on the couch and rolled her eyes. "Key word being 'when we were younger' me and Kaname can stay up till twelve if we want and Sanosuke and Hayate can till ten if they aren't that tired." She snickered.

"Why would your mom let a five year old and a nine year old stay up that late?" he asked, shocked.

"They never do." Kaname said, walking over and grabbing the remote from his sister and changing the channel. "It just makes them happy to think that they are special and get to stay up late. Even though they usually pass out around eight or nine."

Great. That meant it would be closer to nine, since he had given them sugar. Though, they had stopped their game of chase and were now content to hitting each other with the pillows from the couch, both laughing in glee.

"Don't hit each other too hard boys." He warned. Sighing, Akito went and grabbed his portable vacuum, using it to get rid of all of the feathers in his room, since the kids were preoccupied for the time being. That's when he heard the sound of breaking glass. He rushed out and went wide eyed, seeing a gaping hole in one of the window panes. All four of them were stark white and looked over to their father, since they were all tangled in each other's limbs.

"He did it!"

"She did it!"

"He did it!"

"He did it!" they all yelled together, pointing at someone else.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Akito looked at Kanamé. "Kanamé, would you please explain to me what happened?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was not in the mood for the blame game.

Kaname actually looked somewhat fearful of his father's demeanor. "Well…Sanosuke and Hayate attacked me and Izayoi so we started pillow fighting as well and it all got kind of crazy…and someone…hit the lamp and it crashed through the window."

He sighed once more, something he had done a lot since coming home with his kids. "I am going to go outside and clean up the lamp and the glass. While I do that, I want this living room put back the way it was when we came home. And when you are done, you are not to come near the glass on the floor inside the house, and nothing else better be broken, set on fire, or covered in sharpie." He counted everything out on his fingers. "You will sit on the couch and watch television until further instruction. Is that understood?" he asked, crossing his arms.

They all frowned and watched him leave, doing as instructed and cleaning up their mess. They sat down and waited, sullen looks mirroring on all the Uchiha children. Hayate was trying his best not to cry, since he was trying to impress his father in how much of a good boy he was. "Do you think daddy hates us now?" he whispered, afraid of the answer.

"I don't think so Hayate." Kaname told him, attempting a smile that failed. "He just doesn't remember how to be a dad. And you weren't around the first time round. He wasn't very good at it the first time. So he's trying to learn. It'll be alright."

"But I did all that stuff he said." the little boy's bottom lip quivered. "What if he doesn't like me anymore?"

Izayoi leaned forward and shook her head. "Everybody likes you Hayate. And you're just five, it's not your fault and you're excited. We understand." She smiled.

"But-" they all looked to the back door as it was opened and Akito walked in, carrying the trash can the was now full of glass. Without even looking at the kids he set it down and kneeled on the floor, picking up the larger pieces. Then he took the portable vacuum and sucked up every piece that was left, until he was sure none of the kids, or himself, would slice their feet open. Standing, he dumped the contents of the vacuum, which were solely feathers and glass bits, into the trash can before picking it up once more and walking into the kitchen.

Four pairs of eyes watched all of his actions, staring at the entrance to the kitchen. They could hear him moving around, and it sounded as if he were taking out the bag of trash to the dumpster and replacing it. About five minutes later he walked by them again, putting away the vacuum in the hall closet. Then he came back into the living room and stared at the large hole in his window pensively, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Without so much as a word, he walked back to the garage and grabbed a few things, heading back outside. Through the glass in the window, the kids watched as Akito used duct tape to keep up a thick layer of cellophane wrap on the outside, so that no bugs would come inside during the night. Then he came back inside and did the same thing, so that they had a double layer of protection. Stepping back, he placed his hands on his hips, one holding the cellophane and the other the silver tape, and examined his work.

"Well, it looks extremely ghetto, but I think it will have to do." He said, startling the kids. He didn't even sound mad anymore. It sounded almost as if he were trying to make a joke to lighten the mood.

"I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to sleep." Kaname said softly, getting up and heading for the stairs. "Night." He called over his shoulder.

Izayoi stood as well and looked over at her father. "Me too. That way we can wake up and have breakfast in the morning."

Akito turned and watched them go upstairs. Then he looked at Sanosuke and Hayate. "You two should probably go to bed as well. It's late."

"Yeah." Sanosuke hopped off the couch and turned to Hayate. "Come on Hayate, I'll help you get ready." He took his little bother's hand and they made their way upstairs after the twins. Akito sighed, feeling guilty, though for what he didn't know.

He put away everything else that was out, and when he was done he headed upstairs. Going to the room that Kanamé had picked, he knocked before entering, seeing that the room was already dark. He walked over to the bed and stopped. "How badly did I do? Be honest." He said to his son.

There was a low sigh and Kaname sat up, finding his father's darkened shadow. "You did ok, during the day. You're just rusty. You don't know how to show authority in a loving way. But mom just said that's cause you're a lawyer. You think more tactically than emotionally. But I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"Yeah, well, thanks for not giving up on me." He smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair. "Goodnight son. I love you." Akito said, turning and walking back to the door.

"Love you too Dad." He said, laying back down.

Akito shut the door and went across the hall to Izayoi's room. He knocked, waiting a few seconds before entering, though her lights were still on, and she was sitting up in bed, looking like she had been waiting for him to come up. He smiled at the sight. "It's been forever since I got to say goodnight to all of you." He commented, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah it has."

His brow furrowed. "Do I suck as badly as I think I do? I know I'm not as fun as your mom is, but I was trying to make today enjoyable." He scratched the back of his head.

Izayoi laughed. "Mom isn't fun. She's bossy."

"It's not like I'm any better." He said truthfully.

"But you didn't take us away anywhere and ruin our lives." She pointed out.

"But I was the reason you were taken away in the first place." He countered.

She waved him off. "Mom was selfish because you wouldn't spend every waking moment adoring her. She was just being stupid. It's not like being a mom is that hard right? And if it was, why'd she get pregnant in the first place?"

"Well…you and Kanamé weren't exactly planned…" he told her. "You have to remember she and I got married at a young age, and the two of you were born soon after, so it's not like we got to get used to marriage before having kids."

"Yeah but still," Izayoi huffed. "It's not like she had to work. She just hung around the house all day and played with Sanosuke and typed on the computer. What was so difficult about that?"

"Well, knowing your mom, she kept the house clean, did the laundry, made breakfast, lunch, and dinner, took you all to school and kept up with your individual schedules, all while going to school herself, and taking care of an infant, which require a lot of attention. It's not exactly a walk in the park." He brushed some of her hair from her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset with your mom for what happened, I just think you should try to cut her a bit of slack." He gave her a small smile. "She gave up her life to raise you kids, and I'm happy that she was finally able to reach her dream of becoming a doctor."

"She is a pretty good doctor." She said smiling a bit. She got an award and was one of the top five surgeons in the country last year."

"And I bet she never puts her work before any of you." He said.

"Not if she can help it. But there are emergencies. She's only missed one game though, so I guess she really is good at her job." She shook her head.

"See? She's not that much of a bitch. Only on special occasions, and usually when it has to do with me." He joked, smiling at her.

"Then why don't you just have sex more? I heard sex makes women much nicer and shuts them up…in a sense." She blushed a bit.

Akito gave her a scolding look. "Why do you know that?"

"I read a couple of Mom's sexy novels." She admitted shyly.

He sighed. He probably should have expected this, but he still didn't like to think of his little girl knowing about those kinds of things. "Sometimes things just aren't as simple as they are in books honey. I wish they were, but they aren't."

"Then how come you don't just talk? I mean, she has to still like you right? If she didn't she would have changed her legal name back to Sabaku right?" she laughed, placing her hand on her Dad's leg and trying to pat some reassurance into him.

He blinked. "I thought she did. The officers called her by her maiden name when they were arresting me."

"Probably cause she goes by Sabaku and sign's stuff. But she tells people to call her Dr. Natsumi. Her medical degree says Uchiha on it though and wouldn't that be the right name?" she asked, looking confused now from her father's fuddled look.

"Oh. I thought she had changed it back…" he trailed off, a wave of relief washing through him. Then he looked back at her. "Never mind. You need to go to sleep." He rose and kissed her forehead once more. "I love you Izayoi. And don't worry, your mom and I will definitely be having a talk this weekend."

"Love you too Dad! See you in the morning!" she told him, snuggling into the sheets as he left and flipped off the lights.

Akito walked down the hall and knocked on Sanosuke's door before entering. He went over to the bed, leaning over and kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight buddy." He said softly.

"Night dad." Sanosuke said, rolling onto his side and facing him. "Dad…? I'm sorry if I made you angry. I promise to be better next time."

Akito smiled and brushed some of his son's bangs from his face. "You don't have to be better Sanosuke, you just have to be yourself. I love you the way you are. What I don't love is how troublesome your curiosity can be, but it's nothing I can't handle. I just have to get used to it. Okay?"

"Okay." He returned his father's smile. "I love you dad."

"I love you too." Akito said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Last but not least was Hayate's room, and Akito was actually a little nervous. It had been a while since he had said goodnight to someone so young, and on top of that he didn't know what Natsumi usually did.

Entering the room, he went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, his youngest still awake, since he had left the light on. "Hey munchkin." He said.

Hayate looked up at him, his identical green eyes wide. "Daddy? Do you hate me cause' I ruined all your stuff?"

Akito's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No, I could never hate you Hayate. I love you. You just made daddy angry, but I know you didn't mean it." he said.

"I'm sorry." He said softly, sounding as if he was about to cry. Akito reached out and pulled him into his lap, holding him close.

"I know. I forgive you. They were easily replaceable anyways, so it really isn't a big deal." He reassured him. Hayate pulled away from his chest and gave him a doubtful look.

"Are you sure? Cause' I can save up my allowance and pay you back. Mommy said I need to be 'sponcible, and I want to make you proud." He said, nodding.

This made Akito smile lovingly at the gift that was his youngest. "That isn't necessary, but thank you for offering. You're just a little kid, I expect you to break things every now and then. But I also expect you to be mindful of your actions and your surroundings."

"Yes sir."

"Good." He kissed him on the forehead and then laid him back down, rising and tucking him into the sheets. "Now go to sleep so that you have plenty of energy for tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay!" he said, snuggling into the sheets. "Night daddy. I love you."

"And I love you." Akito said, turning out the lights before leaving the door cracked just a bit so that some light from the hall would stream in. He didn't want Hayate to get scared after all, since he was in a strange place.

Sighing and smiling to himself, Akito went downstairs to finish cleaning things up and hiding the things that could be hazardous to his kids. After finishing that, he went into his room and put on a pair of loose pants and an old shirt that Natsumi had gotten them when they had first gotten married, saying 'Kiss the Lawyer' on it. Although, it wasn't until after he had worn it in public that she told him to only wear it at home, since he'd been attacked by numerous women while out shopping with her.

He pulled back his sheets and got into his bed, leaving on the lamp and taking out a book so that he could read a bit before going to sleep. Not even five minutes into the book, he heard the patter of small feet on the hardwood floor, and shortly after his bedroom door cracked open, and Hayate's head poked around it. "Daddy?" he asked, sounding afraid. Seeing that his father was awake, he pushed the door fully open and ran into the room.

"Daddy!" he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. Akito's eyes widened and he put down his book, picking up Hayate when he reached the bed.

"Hayate, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I want mommy!" he said, his lower lip quivering.

Akito faltered, unsure of what to do. "Well…mommy isn't here right now. She's back at your house, and-" he was cut off when the young boy broke into hysterics, whining incoherently about how much he missed Natsumi, and how scared he was, and how badly he wanted to go home. Not knowing what to do, Akito scanned his room frantically for something to preoccupy the crying boy with. Should he just drug him so that he falls asleep? No, that would be wrong.

His eyes landed on his cell phone, and he was struck with an idea. "Hey, Hayate! I have an idea." He said excitedly, causing the little boy to stop crying momentarily.

"W-what is it?" he asked, rubbing his wet eye.

"Why don't we call mom on my phone, and you can say goodnight to her that way." He suggested.

This caused him to perk up instantly, as if a switch had been flipped inside of him. "Really? Let's do it! Call mommy! Call mommy!" he chanted, clapping his hands. Akito picked up his phone and hit speed dial, holding it to his ear as it began to ring, and praying that she answered.

Just when he thought it was going to go to voice mail the dial ended and was replaced by a somewhat breathless voice. "_Hello?_"

"Hey Natsumi, do you have a minute? Hayate wants to say goodnight to you." He said.

"_Of course! I always have time for my baby. I wasn't able to sleep anyways. Go ahead and put him on._"

"Here you go buddy." Akito handed his iPhone over. Hayate took it eagerly.

"Mommy?" he asked, excited to hear her voice.

"_Hi Hayate!_" she replied, sounding blissfully happy. "_Oh I miss you so much my sweet little boy! How are you? Are you being good for daddy?_"

"No." he said sadly, looking down in shame even though she couldn't see him. "I colored on daddy's nice clothes, and set his curtains on fire, a broke his feathery pillow, and a window in the living room." He admitted. Akito stroked his son's head, assuring him that he wasn't in trouble with him anymore.

Even Akito could hear her evil snicker over the phone and had to lean closer to hear this. "_Oh sweetheart. That's not bad. You were subconsciously getting him back for being a meanie face to mommy. I am very proud of you! He can afford to replace all that anyway. Just make sure you don't do it again. Alright? It was only a onetime thing. I love you a whole lot and I'm sure daddy isn't mad at you. You're the greatest thing in the whole world._"

"Nuh uh! I think you are the greatest in the world mommy!" he said, smiling brightly. "And so does daddy! He has a picture of you right next to his bed, and-" Akito put his hand over Hayate's mouth to stop him.

"Don't tell mommy that. It's a secret." He whispered, earning a nod. He removed his hand.

"Forget what I just said mommy. Daddy said it's a secret." He smiled, and Akito just smacked his palm to his forehead.

Natsumi laughed and Hayate could hear the kiss through the phone. "_I love you Hayate. Now go be the amazing little boy I know you are and head to bed. Have sweet dreams, I'll see you tomorrow. I miss you so much. So can I talk to your daddy now? And know you are being good and heading off to bed?_"

"Yes mommy. I promise I will be the perfect little angel. I love you and goodnight!" he said before shoving the phone back in Akito's face and hopping off the bed, running out of the room. Akito held the phone back to his ear.

"You have no idea how distraught he was that he wasn't able to say goodnight to you." Akito chuckled lightly. "Thank God for technology, huh?" he said, hoping to derail her from asking about what was on his bedside table.

"_Yes. Yes, technology is fabulous. So why do you have a picture of me huh? And what is there?_" she asked in her oh so prying tone. Trust her to be focused and on target when it came to things about her.

"What do you mean, 'what is there'? There's nothing. Nothing at all." He said.

"_Liar_!" she sang in a sing song voice. "_Tell me, tell me, tell me_!"

"And why should I?" he raised a brow.

"_Why wouldn't you?_" she replied snidely.

"Maybe cause' I don't wanna." He said in a childish voice.

She took a deep breath and even though he knew it was coming he couldn't prepare himself for her sultry voice. "_Akito,_" she purred, sounding incredibly alluring as she always did when she wanted to know something, and it still sent shivers up his spine. "_Won't you please tell me?_" she asked. "_I'll tell you something…exciting._" She whispered almost so softly he had to press his ear closer to the phone.

He gulped, his entire mouth going dry. "How exciting?" he asked, and he knew that she knew by the strain in his voice that she had already won.

"_Very exciting._" She said with an elongated and very satisfied sigh. He could even see the victorious smirk on her face.

"Well…there's that picture of you, you know, the one I took on our wedding day when you were smiling and your hair was blowing in the wind and the way the sun hit you it made you look like an angel." He said, knowing that she knew what he meant.

There was a long pause but he could still hear her breathing, which was slow and uneven. "_I have a picture of you too…_"

"Which one?" he asked, curious.

"_You know,_" she hesitated. "_When we took pictures for the wedding. Where we were both dressed in black and it was a close up on our upper halves and our intertwine fingers were in the shot and we were pressed to on another forehead to forehead and nose to nose._"

"Yeah, I remember that one." He smiled at the memory. "Anyways, I also have that yearly calendar you got me with those little saying on it and different pictures of us both growing up on every page, and currently I'm wearing that shirt you got me. The one that says kiss the lawyer on it."

Natsumi laughed. "_You don't wear that out in pubic anymore do you?_"

"Not since the first time. Plus you told me I wasn't allowed to, so I don't." he leaned against his pillows. "So, what was the exciting news you were going to tell me?"

"_Oh you don't want to know that silly thing._" She laughed maniacally.

"I believe I do. Now spill." He ordered.

She giggled a bit, "_Well if you really want to know…_" she said lowly, her voice taking on a tone he recognized and his body instantly responded as he shifted slightly. "_Since you have the kids, I decided it might be nice to go to sleep…without any pajamas or undergarments._"

"You don't want me to sleep peacefully, do you?" he asked.

"_Nope._" She replied cheekily. "_Well, it's late! Gotta go! Love you! Bye_!" she said quickly and a bit rushed and then the line went dead.

Akito looked at his phone in shock. Did she really just say she loved him? He smiled, setting down his phone next to a small, black velvet box. The one thing he didn't tell her about, that Hayate had seen. Turning off his lamp, he got comfortable in his bed. The way things were progressing, it seemed he just might have a use for what was in that velvet box after all.

* * *

><p>Natsumi screamed out, throwing her phone into a nearby overstuffed chair as if it had bitten her. She let out another shout and fell back into her bad, lying on her back. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she hit herself in the forehead. "Why did I say that? Damn him and his image and attempts at being a good father!" she thrashed around in her large bed, practically throwing a naked fit. She huffed and lay motionless for a while. "God Akito." She turned on her side and stared at the wall. "How is it that after all this time, you still have a hold on my heart?"<p>

With another sigh, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, trying to imagine what Sunday would be like.


	9. Inimitable

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Eight_

-Inimitable-

Natsumi peeked out from the curtains to the front of her house. Akito had said he would bring the kids back over around noon, and it was now almost eleven thirty. She backed away then with a sigh. "I should just leave and go to the store so we don't have to see each other." She told herself, walking back to her room and then into her closet.

But she wanted to see him. "Damn it!" she yelled and fingered through her clothing. But she shouldn't be dressed to expect him. No. She had to pretend she was _completely _aloof. Deciding on her plan she pulled down some tight workout clothes and tugged on some black capris that formed to her body almost like a second skin and a matching sports bra that showed off more than it should.

She clipped her hair up in a jaw clip, messing with her bangs until they were perfect. She glanced at the time and gasped. They'd be here any minute! She heard the doorbell ring and yelped. She ran into her bathroom and grabbed a spray bottle that was filled with water and misted herself lightly so it appeared she'd been working out in her exercise room. She grabbed a towel and ran, stopping before she was in the foyer and slowed her pace to a casual step.

She stopped at the door and opened it, dabbing at her face in attempts to remove the 'sweat'. "Oh yeah, Akito. Sorry I must have let the time slip." She feigned slight surprise and then smiled down at her kids who all looked happy to see her.

"Hi Mom!" they yelled, hugging her briefly and then running up the steps to go place their things away.

Akito took in her appearance and smirked, pulling off his aviators as he stepped into the house. He didn't believe her for a minute. "You let the time slip, when your kids were coming home?" he asked, raising a brow as she shut the front door. Before she could do anything, he pulled her against him and nuzzled her slightly, inhaling deeply. She could feel his smirk, and he pulled away, releasing her. "And yet you don't even smell like sweat. Interesting."

She turned a dark red. "In fact," he whispered. "You smell kind of like that cherry blossom spray you love so much." She went darker and huffed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Damn it. She forgot sweat smelled.

"Sure you don't." he smiled at her. "I bet you put that whole outfit together just for me. Hm? Am I right?"

"No!" she yelled over exaggerated, extremely flustered. "I like to keep in shape. Nothing more."

He chuckled, turning to face the stairs as he waited for the kids to come back down. "You just keep telling yourself that, and maybe somebody will believe it." he crossed his arms, that self-righteous smirk still on his face.

"Don't be mad just cause' you like it." She retorted, sauntering off into the living room.

He watched her butt as her hips swayed, and then followed her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and causing her to let out a gasp. "I don't like it." his deep voice said in her ear. "I _love_ it." he emphasized, nipping her earlobe.

"Stop it," she whined quietly, not pulling away. "The kids will hear and you can be the one explaining that to them."

"Explaining what to them? That we still love each other?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder. "They already know. Izayoi asked me last night if you and I still have sex."

"Well we don't anymore. We're divorced and we should keep it that way. And I don't love you." She growled out weakly, breaking from his grasp and facing him. "And stop trying to put the moves on me." She pointed in his face. "The mind is strong, but the body is weak."

He sighed, her words hurting him, though he knew deep down she didn't mean them. He wished that she would quit being so stubborn. It would make things a lot easier. "Well, _I_ love _you_." He said softly, turning as Hayate ran into the living room.

"Mommy!" he said happily, flinging himself against her legs and hugging her. "I had so much fun mommy. Daddy let me ride all the kid rides at the 'musement park, and we had funnel cake, and I got to play games, and Kanamé almost threw up, cause' he rode too many rides after eating. I think his tummy is like daddy's." he said, all of his words coming out in a rush.

Natsumi leaned over and picked Hayate up, hugging him tightly and resting him on her hip. "Is that right sweetie? I'm so glad you had fun. Did daddy drink Alka-Seltzer when he got home to make his stomach better?"

He nodded excitedly. "He gave Kanamé some too and it made their stomachs all better!"

Sanosuke came in then, and hugged Natsumi. "I unpacked all my stuff and put my clothes in the hamper." He told her as he pulled away.

She looked down and smiled, placing her hand on his head. "Good job. I'm so proud of you, you're growing into such a fine young man. Now why don't you two go and look at the lunch menus and pick what we're having today." She told her two youngest and set Hayate down as they ran off to the kitchen.

Akito gave her a curious look. "Menus?"

"It's easier for them to decide what they want to eat when they can see it. So I made one for every meal time, and once they pick I make it. Makes them feel like it's a restaurant." She shrugged and stretched languidly. "So I suppose, if you want…you could stay for lunch."

"Well I wouldn't want to impose." He said.

"If it was imposing I wouldn't have asked. You think I have a problem with asking you to get out of my house?" she arched a delicate brow and headed back to her bedroom to change into something more normal.

He rolled his eyes and found his way into the kitchen, where Sanosuke and Hayate were looking at the menu, which actually looked like a menu you would find at a restaurant. "So boys, what are we having?" he asked, looking over their shoulders at it.

"I want macaroni and cheese!" Hayate declared.

"But I want chicken wraps, and since I'm older I get to pick." Sanosuke said, looking down at his younger brother.

"Well I don't want either of those, and since I'm the dad I guess that means my word is final." Akito said, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly.

Both looked up at him, wide eyed. "But dad!" they whined at the same time, causing Akito to chuckle.

"I suggest you agree on something then, or I'll pick the healthiest thing on there." He threatened. They both gasped and looked back at it, scanning over its contents.

"Akito!" they all heard from the other room.

"Mom's calling you dad." Sanosuke said without looking up, since they were still trying to decide what to get. Akito sighed and left the kitchen, heading into Natsumi's room. When she wasn't there, he went into the bathroom and then into the walk in closet, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Which do you think looks better? I can't decide." She said, turning around and facing him in nothing but her bra and underwear, which were both made of black lace with little white bows decorating the ends. "This?" she gestured to her body. "Or this one?" she held up a strappy navy blue one.

He blinked. "Um…why does it matter which undergarments you wear exactly?" he asked, becoming confused. She wasn't going on a date later, was she? His body slowly tensed at the thought of her being that intimate with another man, but he forced himself not to jump to conclusions.

"God you're stupid sometimes." She tossed the other aside and grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him towards her and pressing her lips and body against his. He wrapped his arms around her, gripping her butt with his hands and pressing her fully against his arousal.

"I thought you said we weren't going to be doing this anymore." He murmured against her lips.

She sighed and pulled away from him slightly, meeting his green gaze. "If you don't want to, we don't have to. But who am I kidding? Really?"

"Honey, I always want to when it comes to you." He said, kissing her once more. "We have to be careful though, cause' of the kids." He said, gripping the backs of her thighs and lifting her, pressing her against an empty spot on the wall of her closet.

"I wanna love you again Akito," she whispered against him, trying not to moan from the feel of his arousal pressed against her own. "But it's so hard…"

"I want you to love me. I can't live without your love." He began to trail kisses down her throat as he ground against her. "I spent the last five years becoming the man you deserve. The man I should have been."

"I want to believe you," she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tightly. "But…I feel so isolated now. I don't ever want to feel trapped again."

He pulled away and lowered her legs so that her feet were touching the ground. "I promise I will never trap you like that again. I know what my mistakes were now, and I will never make them again." He got down onto his knees so that his face was level with her pelvis. "It's been a while since I've gotten to taste you." He commented, kissing the center of her underwear.

Natsumi trembled from the feel and leaned back against the wall to steady herself as he pulled down the lacy undergarments. He lifted one of her legs and pushed it aside, holding it up as he took in her already moist center. Then his head dipped, and he licked along her slit, circling her clit with his tongue. "Oh Akito!" she moaned, letting her fingers run through his hair until she gripped it and encouraged him forward.

"You still taste so amazing." He said against her, continuing his antics. Then he slid a finger inside of her and began to move it slowly.

"Mommy! What is Daddy doing?" Hayate yelled from the doorway. Natsumi went wide eyed as did Akito. Sanosuke slapped his hands over his brother's eyes but he himself looked absolutely baffled.

Akito removed his hand from her and closed her legs. Then he stood and turned, keeping Natsumi hidden behind him. "Your mom just needed some help with…a bug bite that was on the inside of her leg. She couldn't see it, so…yeah."

"I think I'm going to go throw up now." Sanosuke said, keeping his hand over Hayate's eyes and leading him out of the room.

Natsumi hit him over the head. "You idiot! I told you not to fondle me with the children in the house." She huffed.

He gasped and turned around. "What? I told you we needed to be careful. You're the one who instigated it you know, so don't try and pin this all on me."

She poked his chest over and over. "Pin! Pin! Pin! Pin! Pin!" she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

He pressed her against the wall with his body, kissing her passionately as he stuck two fingers inside her and twisted them, causing her to moan into his mouth. He pulled away enough so that he could see her face as he continued to pump his fingers within her. "You get under my skin sometimes." He said, pulling his hand from her warm center with a smirk. "Now hurry up and get dressed. Our children are hungry." He kissed her once more and left the closet before she could recover from his sensual assault.

She slowly collapsed to the floor, panting loudly. "Damn him." she muttered, still trying to settle her spinning head and racing heart. After a few minutes of sitting there she got up and dressed in some black capris and a red tank top. She walked back out, a slight blush still covering her cheeks. She entered the kitchen only to find Hayate sobbing. "Hayate!" she gasped, rushing over to her baby boy. "What's wrong my love?"

"W-was daddy hurting you?" he choked out, and only then did she notice he was continuously keeping his face hidden from Akito. Natsumi sighed and looked up to the broken expression of her ex-husband. She gestured with her head for him to follow her, and left the kitchen with their youngest in her arms, going back to her room and sitting down in the middle of the bed, snuggling with Hayate. Akito entered shortly after, sitting on the edge of the bed stiffly, since he didn't know what to do.

"Hayate," Natsumi began calmly but strongly. "Daddy was not hurting mommy. You need to understand that when mommies and daddies love each other they do things together without their clothes on. Daddy was making mommy feel good because he loves her. Do you understand?" she looked down into her five year old's eyes, smiling softly at him.

"I think so." He said softly, glancing back at Akito before looking up at her. "But, if you and daddy love each other, then why aren't you married? Don't you want to be a family again?"

Natsumi frowned slightly and made sure not to meet Akito's gaze, which was almost boring through her. "Because Hayate..." she trailed off, sounding sad. "Sometimes love just isn't enough. But we're trying...a little."

He smiled, looking the way Akito used too as a child, and pat her cheek. "It's like you always say mommy. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. You and daddy will get it right, I just know it." he said.

"We'll see sweetheart. Now go get your siblings and pick what you want to eat and get out all the ingredients so mommy can cook. Ok?" she asked. Hayate nodded excitedly and hopped up from his mother's grip before running from the room. Natsumi sighed and finally looked over at Akito.

He looked like he was about to say something, but then the sound of a phone ringing stopped him, and he reached into his pocket to see who it was. Frowning, he answered. "Toshiro, I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can I-" he froze. "What? No, that's fine, I'm on my way. Just get everything together, and I will be there shortly." He hung up and looked at her, rising from the bed.

"I have to go. This gangster I've been trying to put in jail just got arrested for assault, so this might be my chance to finally put him away." He told her, putting his phone in his pocket. He frowned then. "I'm sorry, I hate to be rushing out like this." He said sincerely.

She looked away and sighed. "I understand. It's your job after all."

He reached out and grasped her chin gently, turning her face towards him so that she was looking him in the eye. "I wouldn't be leaving if it wasn't an emergency, I swear. You and the kids are the most important things in my life." He kissed her forehead before walking out of the room and to the kitchen, where all four of the kids were currently getting things ready for lunch. Kanamé took one look at his father and frowned.

"You're leaving." He stated.

"Yes." Akito said. Hayate ran up to him and hugged him around the legs.

"But daddy, we want you to stay for lunch!" he said. Akito picked up his son and held him to his side.

"I know, daddy wants to stay really badly, but he has to go now and put a really bad man in jail. Uncle Toshiro can't do it by himself." He explained.

"Are you going to come back?" Sanosuke asked from his spot at the table.

Akito sighed. "Only if your mother says it's okay."

"Which means you won't be coming back." Izayoi sighed, sitting down at the table in defeat.

"I know it sucks, but we'll get to hang out again." He said, trying to reassure them. Hayate hugged him around the neck.

"How bad is the bad man?" he asked.

"Really bad. One of the worst bad men there could ever be." Akito told him, rubbing his back. Sanosuke stood and walked over, hugging Akito around the waist.

"Thanks for taking us to the amusement park dad. And letting us spend the night." He said.

"You're welcome." Akito set his hand on the boy's head.

Kaname looked to his father and then continued to get out the things they would need for lunch. "Well, see you around then. Whenever you have time."

"I always have time for you." He kissed Hayate on the forehead and set him down, and Sanosuke let go of him.

"Bye dad." He said softly.

"Bye kids. I love you." He said before turning around and heading for the door. He took one last look around the house, and, with a sigh, left.

* * *

><p>Akito and Toshiro walked into the police station later that day, going straight to the front desk. "We're here to see Ziggy." Akito said, putting his hands in his pockets. He had had to swing by his house and change into his work clothes to look professional before meeting his friend, but it had all been done relatively quickly.<p>

"Oh yes, Mister Leroy Jenkins." The officer at the front said. "He's in the last cell. You can just go on back." She motioned with her hand.

"Thanks." They both headed back, stopping in front of the last cell, where Ziggy was. He was a well-known head gangster in Boston, and they finally had enough to be able to put him away. "Looks like you're finally where you belong." Akito said once they were in front of the cell.

The punked out man sitting in the cell just smirked. "Well if it isn't the big bad Uchiha and his smarty pants partner. I can never remember your name." he pointed to Toshiro.

"I don't care." The redhead sighed. The fact that this murderer didn't know his name only put him at ease.

"So whaddya want? Huh?" he asked, standing up and running his hand through his greasy dark brown hair, spiked with green tips. He had a piercing on his nose and over his eye, as well as on his ear. "You the one who's going to be 'putting me away'?"

Akito gave him a confident smirk. "You bet."

"Are ya now?" Ziggy arched a bushy brow. "See, all credit deserved. I used to think you were kinda intimidatin' cause you were the big bad lawyer, that sent us baddins' away. And no one could get ta ya, cause you didn' have a weakness."

Akito couldn't help but look pleased, until the criminals next words wiped the smirk right off his face. "But now…ya got five."

"Excuse me?" he asked, his voice hard as he tried not to physically show a reaction to this punk. Even Toshiro looked vaguely alarmed.

"Ya know. That pretty lil sexy wife of yours. And I gotta say, you got some cute kids. It'd be a shame if somethin' bad happened to any of them. Specially that lil one. He's really cute, a bit of a mama's boy but when your mom is a sexy fine piece of ass like that, who wouldn't? Right?" he snickered, pacing around the cell in order to get some exercise.

"Wow, are you really that worried we'll get you convicted and sent to jail that you're trying to scare us off?" Akito asked, attempting to play off the threat, although on the inside he was freaking out.

Ziggy shrugged. "I wouldn't say worried, but I ain't that good of a guy. So I always like a lil collateral. I'm sure my boys would enjoy a night of that bitch's screams. She looks like a screamer. I'm even tempted myself."

Akito stiffened. "If you so much as have one of your guys look at her I will kill you. And that's not a threat, it's a promise. Come on Toshiro, we have scum to get rid of." He turned and headed for the door.

Ziggy came to the bars and pressed his face against them. "What are ya gunna do law abider? Nothing! You better watch yourself and your bitch!" he yelled after them, laughing as the two exited the cell area and left the station.

Toshiro frowned, looking over to his friend. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." He sighed, stopping and running his hands down his face. "I'll have to talk to Natsumi about it, and see what she wants to do. She needs to know, just in case. Maybe we can get some police officers to guard her house until this all blows over or something."

"That'll freak the kids out. And what about at school or at the hospital or the grocery store?" Toshiro sighed, grimacing. "Maybe it was a good thing Natsumi was gone while you clawed your way up and put all those criminals away."

"Yeah, but what am I going to do Toshiro?" he asked, some of his fear seeping into his voice. "If I tell her she'll just pack the kids up and disappear again. I just got them all back, I don't think I'd be able to survive if they left again."

Toshiro gave Akito a sympathetic look and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Akito. I don't know. But you know these guys are serious and you can't run away or they win. Why don't you convince them to go on vacation while this is all happening." He snapped as the idea hit.

"I'll try." He said, seeming doubtful of the idea. "But you know how she is about work and the kids going to school, and if I wouldn't be going with them for the vacation, Natsumi would get suspicious."

"I don't know what to tell you my friend. But I'm going to go home and make sure Minako and Ayame are ok. You should head home too you look like you could use some rest." Toshiro told him, waving as he walked to his car and got in. Akito sighed, doing the same and going home, trying to come up with a way to keep his family safe.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to get you little boy!" Natsumi yelled, chasing Hayate, who was only wearing his underwear, around his newly picked up room. "Come here you little devious thing you." She laughed, holding his pajamas in one hand and trying to grab for him.<p>

"No mommy!" he squealed in glee. "I wanna sleep nakie!"

"No! No! No my love! You cannot sleep naked." She lunged forward and captured her small boy and lifted him up into her arms. "Silly Hayate. I win." She snickered, showering his face with kisses. "Now will you do what mommy says?"

"Maybe." He giggled cheekily. "Can I sleep nakie when I'm six?" he asked, holding up six fingers.

Natsumi laughed and set Hayate down on his bed. "We'll see." She told him, helping him dress in his bed time clothes and then helped him into bed. "Good night sweetie. I love you more than anything." She told him, kissing his head and nuzzling him lovingly.

"I love you too mommy." He snuggled into his sheets a bit. "I wish I could say night to daddy too. I miss him." he said softly. She looked down at him sadly and sighed, until she got an idea.

"Hold on just a moment Hayate." She said, getting up and leaving the room. She returned shortly with her cell phone and dialed Akito's number and then handed it to Hayate. "There you go sweetie. Just wait till he answers."

Hayate held the phone to his ear and then perked up when a deep voice answered, and he giggled. "No daddy, it's me! Hayate!" he said. Then he looked confused. "But, since you asked, I'm wearing my Spiderman pajamas. Isn't he cool? He's my favorite. Mommy said I could sleep nakie when I turn six." He looked at Natsumi, and then away. "Maybe." He was silent for a bit, until he nodded. "Yeah I had a good day. Did you put the bad man away?" he smiled brightly. "Oh, okay, so you're about to put the bad man away. That's so nice! You're kind of like Dare Devil then, which means you're a superhero too!"

They stayed on the phone a bit longer, until Hayate began to drift off. "Okay daddy, I'll go to sleep. Goodnight, I love you." He held the phone out for Natsumi to take. She took the phone from him and kissed his forehead before tucking him in and then flipping off the lights.

"So what are you wearing?" she asked in teasingly manly voice, snickering into the phone.

"_Shut up. I totally though it was you."_ Akito said.

"You're a freeeeeeeeeeak." She taunted, beginning to laugh as she hoped down the steps and flipped off the main lights, leaving only a couple lamps on and then sat down on the couch.

"_Yeah well this freak still wants to know what you're wearing."_

She rolled her eyes and looked down at her clothing. "Just some shorts and a t-shirt and some slippers. Nothing too kinky tonight." She laughed.

"_Dang. I was so hoping you were wearing that little red number I saw in your closet this morning."_ He chuckled. _"So, how was your day?"_

"Why on earth would I be wearing that to tuck my children into bed?" she arched a delicate brow, staring at the phone. "And it was fine. Made lunch, went to buy some groceries. Some gross punk guy was talking to me about some repulsive sexual things. I tell you, teenagers these days are just disturbing." She shook her head and sighed, glancing up at the ceiling. "So…I was thinking…"

"_Uh oh, good thinking, or bad thinking?"_ he asked. _"Because sometimes your ideas are a little scary."_

"Well, the children were very sad that you weren't able to stay for lunch and since you'll be coming over tomorrow anyways. Why don't you just…head over now and surprise the kids in the morning with breakfast and being there when they wake up." She finished, pursing her lips together, actually slightly nervous.

"_Is there an ulterior motive behind that question?"_ he asked. _"As in, you want to finish what we started in your closet?"_

"Of course not!" she nearly yelled, turning a dark red. "I just thought it would be nice for the kids. But never mind." She huffed.

"_No, no, I would love to come over and be there for the kids."_ He said. _"I'll head over now. Should be only ten minutes or so."_ She could hear him moving about and putting some things together.

"Alright see you then." She said, ending the call. She sat there for a moment and then jerked up, running to her closet, opening her lingerie drawer, and fumbling through her nightgowns. "Ok Natsumi can't look like you're asking for it. But you gotta look gorgeous." She told herself. She stopped, pulling out a maroon colored one and smiled evilly. She undressed and pulled on the matching silk panties and then put on the gown. It was short and made of thick sheer, almost solid but slightly translucent. It stopped just below her rear and had a satin ribbon just below her bust. Lace triangles covered her breasts just barely and thinned out into spaghetti straps.

Once she was all dressed, she went to the bathroom and made sure her makeup was fresh and she looked perfect. She messed with her hair and then heard her phone ring. She ran into her room and picked it up seeing it was a text from Akito, telling her that he was there since he didn't want to wake the kids up with the doorbell. She hurried out and flipped off the kitchen lights and the lamps she'd left on.

She came to the door and unlocked it, opening it only enough for him to see her. "Hm, that was quick." She said, trying to sound carefree.

"Well I didn't want to keep you waiting." He said, dressed in his clothes from earlier that morning. Then he took in her appearance. "Did you change your clothes for me?"

She opened her mouth to say she'd already been wearing this when she'd called but then remembered she told him what she was wearing. "…No…" she huffed, turning around and allowing him in as she walked towards the living room. "I just decided to change before you got here into my sleep clothes."

"Uh huh." He didn't sound convinced as he entered and quietly shut the door behind himself, following her into the living room. "So, where am I sleeping?"

"Where do you think?" she asked, glancing back at him.

"Well I hope with you…naked." He smirked.

She laughed and shook her head. "Nice try and close. I just won't be naked. I don't want you sleeping on the couch. It's expensive and it'll ruin the surprise if one of the kids comes down stairs and sees you in the middle of the night." She turned off the last light in the house and went into her bedroom.

He followed her, placing his small bag of clothes for the next day at the foot of her bed. "So, let me get this straight." He said, taking off his shirt. "We will be sleeping in the same bed, but we aren't going to fool around?" he began to undo his jeans.

"Yup." She said happily, getting into her side and snuggling beneath her comfy sheets.

He took off his pants and got into the other side of the bed. "Well can we at least snuggle?" he asked, looking down at her. She pulled the covers up and covered the lower half of her face to hide the smile.

"I dunno. You tend to get naughty when you touch my body in any kind of way."

"I promise I will restrain myself unless otherwise instructed." He ran his finger up and down the comforter covering her arm.

She giggled, pulling the covers down slightly. "Making out a little does sound kinda fun though."

"You sound like a horny teenager." He snickered, nuzzling her. "Reminds me of when we first started dating."

"Like that summer vacation our families took to the beach when I was seventeen and we snuck into the boat house and did it on the counter top?" she nuzzled him back, ignoring the scolding voice in the back of her head.

"Yeah, and then later, when we discovered sex on the beach isn't as romantic as they make it sound in movies because we got sand everywhere?" he kissed her lightly. "I don't have a fond memory that doesn't include you, you know." He smiled down at her and brushed her bangs from her face.

She kissed him back, nipping at his lower lip. "Well we've known each other since we were young. And spent nearly every summer together."

He cupped her cheek before kissing her deeply. "You were the only thing that made my life worth living back then. You still are. You and the kids." He said against her lips, kissing her once more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, pulling away every now and then to take a breath before pressing her lips against his once more.

"I've loved you for so long." She whispered, holding onto him more desperately. "I don't know how to love anyone but you."

"It's impossible for me to love anyone else. I gave you my heart years ago, and you still have it." he wrapped his arms around her as best he could, wanting to keep her there, and never let go. The words from Ziggy entered his mind and he pushed them away, not wanting his fear to show through his kisses.

She moved her hands from his back and held his face, kissing him more feverishly. "I love you," she said seriously, not breaking their contact. "I'm so sorry I left you, but if I hadn't…my love would have dried up and turned to hate." She tried to explain, having to break every now and again since he hadn't stop kissing her.

"I love you so much, sometimes it hurts." He continued kissing her. "I forgot to remind you that I loved you, but I will never make that mistake again."

"You didn't hold me anymore." She said sadly, pulling him closer.

"I am now." He murmured, looking down at her. "And I will never let you go."

"I woke up to an empty bed, every morning without you there…"

"I will always be there when you wake up."

"You left me all alone," she said weakly, a stray tear sliding down her cheek.

He wiped it away before kissing her sweetly. "You will never be alone." She nodded slowly and kissed him once last time before turning on her side and closing her eyes.

"Sleep with me."

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, snuggling against her. "Goodnight love." He murmured. She smiled slightly and placed her hands over his, falling back into his warmth that she had been without for so long. And then they fell asleep for the first time together in years.


	10. Family Breakfast

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Nine_

-Family Breakfast-

Akito woke up the next morning to the feeling of something soft and warm pressed against him, and the smell of cherry blossoms. He smiled, nuzzling the source before slowly opening his eyes. "Natsumi…" he kissed her neck. "Time to get up."

"No." she pouted.

"Well…" he trailed off, kissing lower on her neck. "I'm going to go get a quick shower, and if you aren't up by the time I get out, I'm going to make you wet, and you won't like this kind." He threatened, pulling away from her with a smirk.

"Meh." She made a face at him without opening her eyes.

"Or you could join me, and we can save water. Your pick." He kissed her forehead before getting out of the bed and walking over to his bag in order to get what he would need.

She sighed. "Man I forgot how much you talk in the mornings." She smiled slightly. "I showered last night but go right ahead. But you better hurry. Hayate always comes in the morning on Sundays and crawls into bed with me for an hour or so."

"Alright." He went into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Not ten minutes later he came back out, fully dressed in some casual jeans and a black shirt, to see Natsumi still in bed. He smiled deviously before running and jumping up onto the bed, landing next to her in a sitting position, the force of his impact causing her to bounce.

She yelped, her eyes flashing open in alarm as she crashed back into the mass of sheets and pillows and pulled herself from the heap. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you crazy!" she yelled, glaring up at him.

He burst into laughter. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist. You never were much of a morning person though."

"Exactly! So shut up and leave me alone you weird ball of sunshine." She grumbled, crawling back under her covers and making a somewhat cave like cocoon, now gone from the visible eye. Akito blinked and leaned closer to the dark entrance.

"Natty," he called sweetly, snaking his hand into the darkness and trying to feel for her. "AH!" he actually yelled, jerking his hand back and stroking the bite mark. "You bit me!" All he heard as a reply was a low hiss like a deadly snake.

His eyes narrowed, and before she knew what was happening, Akito got off the bed, picked up a corner of the comforter, and dove underneath the covers, sliding right next to her in the darkness. He began to growl as he reached out and started to tickle her, the two of them engaging in a tussle as she hissed and he growled. Suddenly they both froze when the bed bounced and something landed on top of Akito, who was on top of Natsumi.

"Get off my mommy you monster!" Hayate's voice yelled, and then Akito started to get hit. It wasn't too bad, until he was hit in the back of the head.

"Ow! Hayate!" he sat up, the covers and the small boy falling off of him. "It's just me." He said, ignoring the fact that he was now straddling Natsumi. Hayate's eyes widened, and then he smiled joyfully.

"Daddy!" he squealed, getting up and jumping on his father, knocking him sideways and onto the other side of the bed. "I missed you so much!" he said, hugging Akito around the neck.

"I missed you too squirt." Akito chuckled, returning his son's embrace and sitting back up. He looked over at Natsumi, and his smile widened. Discreetly, so that Hayate wouldn't notice, he reached out and pulled the material to the top of her nightgown back over her breast, which had become exposed in their tussle.

Natsumi pulled the covers back over her body and smiled at the two, enjoying how much love she saw between them. Hayate pulled away from Akito then and looked at Natsumi. "Hi mommy! You look happy this morning." He commented. "Is it cause' daddy's here?"

"Maybe." She whispered, glancing up at Akito and then reaching her hands out for her son. He gladly broke from Akito's embrace and snuggled with her beneath the covers. "Did you sleep well my little one?" she asked, nuzzling him and showing him all her love.

"Yes I did. I had a dream that I had super powers and put bad people in jail like daddy does!" he smiled happily. "I want to be just like daddy when I grow up."

Akito's eyes widened, and then softened. "You can someday if you work really hard." He stroked his son's head. "But you can't forget about the important stuff, like family."

"I won't. I promise." Hayate nodded.

"Love is the most important thing." Natsumi corrected, kissing Hayate's cheek.

"Yes mommy." He snuggled against her. Then he reached over and grabbed Akito's hand. "Daddy, you cuddle too." He ordered, yanking.

"Okay." Akito said, somewhat startled. He lay down and wrapped his arms around the two under the covers, so that Hayate was between them. The little boy smiled and wriggled a little bit.

"Now I'm surrounded by love!" he declared.

Akito smiled softly at his son. "Yes, you are."

"So much love." Natsumi caressed his face, letting her feet tangle with Akito's. They heard the door creak open wider, and the sound of feet padding across the floor. Wordlessly, Sanosuke crawled up onto the bed. Akito raised his arm, and Sanosuke squeezed between him and Hayate, cuddling his little brother.

"This is nice." He sighed as Akito's arm was draped over him.

Natsumi laughed and smiled at her son, feeling another dip in the bed, Kaname and Izayoi peered over the mass and brightened excitedly. "How come everyone's in mom's bed?" Kaname asked moving between his two brothers. Izayoi did the same between Kaname and Sanosuke.

"Good thing you have a king sized bed mom." Izayoi said, smiling blissfully.

"Well," Hayate said, perking up. "I came in to snuggle with mommy, but I heard growling and hissing, so I thought she was being attacked. So I jumped on the monster under the covers, and it was daddy!" he smiled. "He and mommy were playing, and then we started snuggling, and then Sanosuke came in, and then you two. Now everybody's together."

"Were you guys having sex?" Kaname asked, seeing his mother's night gown.

"No. I was trying to get you mom out of bed and she bit me, and the fight was on." Akito said.

Izayoi laughed. "Mom never gets up this early!"

"I know, but I like to torture her." Akito smiled. "Don't I Natty?" he asked, rising a bit to look over at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't make me bite you again Akki."

"Grouch."

"I'm hungry." All four of the kids said together, their stomachs growling simultaneously.

"Then go get out all Mommies' normal breakfast things and close the door." She told them.

They all looked at each other and shivered before breaking from their spots and heading out the door, closing it behind them. Akito sat up and stretched before looking down at her. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked.

"Better than I have in probably ten years." She sighed, but it was happy.

"Good." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She smiled back, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I love you too Akito."

"So…what's for breakfast?" he asked, remaining over her.

"Me." She whispered softly, moving one of her hands from his shoulder and pushing the straps of her nightgown down so that her breasts were just barely covered with the lacy fabric.

"Hm…" he dipped his head and began to kiss her collar, moving down her chest. He pushed aside the top, flicking his tongue over her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. "Tasty." He said against the sensitive flesh.

Natsumi moaned softly, there was just something about being exposed to him that turned her on. "Oh Akito." She moved against him. "You make me feel like a horny school girl."

"You just make me feel like a horn dog." He said, moving over to the other breast. "I remember when I made you dress up in your old school uniform for me so we could have sex on my desk in the study as I played the principle."

"It was so tight I couldn't button the shirt up fully anymore." She breathed out. "But the best was when we did it on that trampoline senior year." She moaned just thinking about it.

"Yeah with that extra bounce to it." he began to pull down the dress slowly, kissing along her stomach as he went. "Or when we used the kid's little plastic pool and had a whipped cream and chocolate syrup fight and I got to lick it all off of you."

"Oh God yes." She shivered with delight. "That was amazing and so sticky. Or that time in your father's bed, the only time you didn't come inside of me on purpose." She snickered.

"He's still pissed at me for that." He said, pulling off the dress fully and then her underwear. "But it was so worth it." He parted her legs and dipped his head, licking at her eagerly.

She gasped, biting down on her index finger to silence herself so the children wouldn't hear. "Mmm, Akito it's been so long since you've done this to me."

"Too long if you ask me." He murmured, circling her clit with his tongue and sliding two fingers into her, moving them slowly to increase her torture. She bucked her hips against his fingers, pushing them further into her folds.

"Sometimes I'm surprised…" she panted out. "That I was lucky enough to get pregnant in college instead of high school. Considering all the times we did it so carelessly."

"Me too." He pulled away from her, removing his hand so that he could take his shirt off. Then he undid his pants and slid them down to his knees along with his boxers. "But a condom just takes away from the pleasure for me." He said, positioning himself before slowly sliding into her tightness. "Oh yeah." He whispered, clenching his jaw. "I can feel you squeezing me a lot better this way." He slid almost all the way out before slamming back into her.

She couldn't help but scream out at the sudden force. "God Akito!" she yelled, throwing her head back. She tried to move against him in attempts to speed up his slow and torturous pace. "You always feel so good inside of me." She moaned, arching her back for him.

"You always feel so great when I'm inside you." He said softly, continuing to go slowly. He began to kiss her neck, nipping every so often. "I missed you." He said against her skin.

"I know." She giggled, laughing when he bit down on her tickle spot. "Akito!" she gasped out, bursting into laughter since he continued to tickle her, because it caused her to tense, and her body tightened around him more so with her haggard breathes and laughs. "Stop! It tickles!" she jerked into him, making an odd sound between a moan and a laugh.

"If that's what you want." He said, pulling away so that he could look down into her face. "Do you also want this?" he asked as he pulled out of her almost fully, slamming back into her suddenly and causing her to gasp at the feeling. He pulled out again, repeating his actions.

She nodded quickly, biting down on her lower lip to silence her loud noises of bliss. "Y-yes." She managed out and was able to hold in a moan, meeting his hips and slamming against him. He increased his pace slightly, groaning at the feel. He held her closer to him, so that their breaths began to mingle as they panted almost in sync. And finally, as if their bodies were still in-tune with one another they released, trying to be as silent as possible, even though their children probably already knew what they were doing.

Natsumi leaned up and kissed him deeply. She wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the feel of him being inside of her. "I love you Akki." She whispered lovingly.

"I love you too Natty." He said, nuzzling her affectionately before kissing her.

"I just can't ever seem to get away from you." She smiled against his lips.

He chuckled, kissing her once more. "Good. Because now that I have you, I'm never letting you go again." He rested his forehead against hers.

"Promise?"

"I promise, with all my heart. I want to be a family again." He murmured.

She lifted her hand and touched his cheek. "I can't take that abandonment again."

"I can't take you and the kids leaving me again." He rubbed his cheek into her hand.

"Well then," she smirked. "I suggest you don't do the first then."

"I won't." he smiled and kissed her. "We should probably get dressed and feed the kids." He sighed, not wanting to leave her warmth.

She pushed him off and nodded, the thought of her kids finally reentering her mind. "Right, well I'm too tired from you slamming into me to move. So you're going to have to dress me." She snickered.

"Well I'm too tired from the exertion of slamming into you that I don't think I can dress myself." He said, lying on his back next to her.

"So you will let our children starve?" she arched a delicate brow, looking over at him.

He sighed as he got off the bed, pulling up his pants and fixing them before picking up his shirt and putting it on. Then he looked down at her gloriously naked body. "So…what do you want to wear today?"

She shrugged, stretching languidly, loving how she could still hold his eye. "I dunno, surprise me. But I better look amazing."

He smiled before walking back into her closet and looking around. He pulled out some silky red underwear and a matching bra for her to wear, just picturing her in it. Then, since it was a Sunday and he knew she would want to be comfortable, he took out a pair of her yoga pants and a red tank top so that the straps of her top would match her bra. Not only did the outfit look amazing, but it would allow him to admire her body all morning.

Picking everything up, he carried it into the bedroom and laid it on the bed. He grabbed the underwear and slid it onto her, lifting her hips so that it was on her fully. He stayed over her, looking down at her. "I'm so reluctant to cover you up you know." He said, glancing down at her chest.

"I bet you are naughty boy." She blew him a kiss, resting her hands above her head. "But my babies are hungry."

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed, grabbing the bra he had picked and putting it on her. "Arch your back so I can hook it." he ordered. She did as she was told and arched her back and allowed him to hook her bra back on.

Then he picked up the yoga pants and put them on her before grabbing her tank top and doing the same. When he was finished he smiled down at her. "All done. Is this outfit acceptable to you?"

"Yup." She offered her hand up. He took it and helped her up from her bed. "Let's go have some breakfast." She smiled and walked out of the bedroom, joining her children in the kitchen, which had everything prepared. "Hi my loves! You ready for a massive breakfast?" she clapped her hands together.

"Are you and daddy done playing your game?" Hayate asked, smiling at his parents.

The corner of Akito's mouth lifted. "Yes Hayate. And I want you to know that daddy won." He ruffled his son's hair, making him giggle.

Natsumi smacked the back of Akito's head and rolled her eyes. "Please," she snickered. "I was the one who was satisfied. So I win." She snickered and cracked open two eggs expertly. "Now why don't you kids go out back and play with your dad while I cook. I'll call you when it's ready."

With a loud cheer all four kids ran out and Akito followed. They played tag until Natsumi called them back in and they all enjoyed their first meal together. Finally, the doorbell rang and Toshiro arrived on time to pick the kids up to take them to the zoo. Akito and Natsumi waved goodbye and both looked confused when Toshiro came back in and passed them.

"What are you doing?" Natsumi asked, watching her brother case the house and then pack up all the knives and sharp utensils in a safe box.

He came back and gave them both a smile. "You know, just in case." He waved and then hurried out. "Try not to kill each other and play nice!" he called over his shoulder before getting in his car and driving away.

"Well…I wasn't really planning on playing mean, or killing you." Akito looked at Natsumi. "Were you?"

"No." she blinked. "Though…" she looked away then. "I'm sorry…you know…for getting you arrested."

"Hey," he reached out and gently grasped her chin, turning her head to look at him. "Don't worry about it. I should have taken the kids home before you got there, so that you weren't worried. I just…missed them so much, and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could."

"But why would you do that?" she trembled, finally showing her fear since she had yet to allow her feelings to be out. "Why would you kidnap them? And make me worry, I was days away from asking you to come and see them. But with Hayate you can see how scared I was."

"I know." He cupped her cheek. "And I'm sorry. I wasn't really thinking about things that way and you have to remember, I didn't know about Hayate until I showed up at the school to get them. And so I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could so that I could get to know him, and Sanosuke didn't really remember me…" he sighed and pressed his forehead against hers. "I didn't mean to make you freak out like that."

"Really?" she gave him a small glare. "So you thought that I wouldn't care enough about my babies to wonder where they were? And you had Toshiro lie to me?" She began to cry. "When the school said that they were picked up by an attractive dark haired man in a Lamborghini, I knew it was you, so I sent the police to your house. I was so mad. And I don't know why I said that, I just couldn't control myself." She sobbed.

"I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. "You know how I don't think about stuff sometimes."

"But taking them?" she collapsed against him. "I wanted to tell you about him. But…you would have killed me, and we were having such a nice night."

He laid his head on top of hers. "I honestly don't know what I would have done." He said. "I would have been furious, yes, but eventually I would have wanted to meet him."

"Well…so…you're not mad?" she asked, staring at his chest.

"Not anymore." He began to rub her back. "I'm actually the happiest I've been in years." He smiled.

She smiled and then it slowly turned to a frown. "I haven't made you happy in nearly a decade."

"No, I haven't allowed myself to be happy in nearly a decade. You just didn't make me happy for half of it." he somewhat joked, pulling back and looking down at her. "But I still love you."

"Do you?" she asked seriously, searching his gaze. "I know you enjoy my body. You always have. But love and lust are two very different things."

"Natsumi, I have always loved you." He cupped her cheek. "I love your smile and your laugh, how you brighten up a room with just your presence, and the way you put people in their place. When something is bothering me, you're the only one I willingly go to talk about it. You are the only one who can put up with me, and the only one I can picture myself growing old with. It always has been, and always will be that way."

She placed her hands over his and held them to her cheeks, allowing her tears to fall. "I love you Uchiha Akito."

"And I love you, Uchiha Natsumi." He kissed her sweetly then. She kissed him back, leaning into him.

"Well. Since the kids are going to be out all day and we have the house to ourselves…" she trailed off, giving him a devious smirk.

He returned her smirk with one of his own. "Wanna go and…" he gave her body a once over. "Give each other massages? I saw that stash of stuff in your bathroom earlier, and it gave me some great ideas."

"I always liked your ideas." She snickered. Akito took her up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom, closing her door with his foot to begin their day of fornicating.


	11. Oopsie

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Ten_

-Oopsie-

The next morning Akito woke up at six thirty sharp, getting out of bed to get ready for work. As he fixed himself breakfast, he couldn't help but smile as he was reminded of yesterday. He and Natsumi had spent all day making love, and it was incredible. And when they weren't making love, they just hung out and talked, catching up, reminiscing. Basically, falling in love all over again, though they had never fallen out of it.

Once he finished eating breakfast, he picked up his briefcase and got in his car, starting it and beginning the drive to work. Today he would be pretty busy, putting together a case to get Ziggy sent to jail. But, since he wasn't at work yet, he would just continue to think of his amazing lover, as he preferred to think of Natsumi that way instead of as his ex-wife.

They had even talked about her sending him to jail, and he was glad that everything was good between them. He had been so angry that she'd done that to him…he didn't know what he was thinking. It was a good thing that Toshiro had talked him out of killing Natsumi.

His eyes widened and he slammed on the breaks, causing people behind him to honk furiously. _Shit_. True, he hadn't killed Natsumi, but his revenge was going to happen today. And if it happened successfully, then he was going to be put right back in the doghouse.

Not wanting that to happen, he sped up, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible so that he could call the whole thing off. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

Two officers stopped at the front desk of the hospital, causing the receptionist to go wide eyed. "Can I help you officers?" the old woman asked.

"We need to speak with Dr. Uchiha. Can you tell us where she is?" one of the men asked.

"She is with a patient right now, but I will page her and have her come right down when she's done."

Both men nodded. "You do that." They said, walking over to the side of the waiting area so that they weren't in the way.

After a while Natsumi came from the emergency room hall and looked around the area. She walked over to the receptionist and gave her an odd look. "What's the emergency?"

"Those two officers have requested to speak with you." She pointed at the two men, who walked up to her.

"Dr. Uchiha?" one of them asked.

"Yes?" she blinked, looking between them. "Can I help you officers?" she asked, panic seizing her. "Did something happen to my kids?"

"No, your children are fine. May we please see your office? Or locker?" the other one asked.

Her confusion only grew. "Um sure? Can I ask what this is about?"

"We got a tip that you may be keeping illegal drugs there, and we just want to check."

Her eyes widened and a couple of the other doctors and patients came out to watch the scene. "Excuse me? Are you sure? I've never done any illegal substances my whole life. Please check, I'll show you that this is a mistake." She gestured for them to follow her into the common area where all the residents had lockers.

When they got back there they stopped in front of Natsumi's locker and she opened it for them. One of the officers stepped up and put on a pair of gloves, beginning to search through its contents. The other officer looked at her. "We're sorry to trouble you, but it's just standard procedure." He explained.

"It's fine. I just don't under-" he eyes widened when she saw the officer that was searching her locker pull out a plastic Ziploc bag filled with a powdery white substance. "That is not mine. Someone must have placed it there. You're making a huge mistake!" she yelled, becoming slightly hysterical as the other officer cuffed her.

"I'm sorry Doctor, but you are under arrest for possession of cocaine. We got a call from your ex-husband, saying he was worried about the kids well being and he thought you were taking something. I'm sorry to see he was right." he shook his head, pulling Natsumi forward.

Her whole body went cold and her vision actually blanked with all the rage that suddenly flashed through her body. The officers led her out, humiliatingly, in front of all her coworkers, who whispered as she passed. But the only thing she could think of was how much she was going to kill Akito for ripping out her heart again and betraying her.

* * *

><p>Later that morning, Akito pulled into the parking lot of the police station, slowly, and almost reluctantly getting out of the car. He had hurried over to the hospital, but when he arrived, Natsumi had already been arrested. Cursing his luck, he called the station and told them that he would pay for her bail, and that he was on his way.<p>

Sighing, he walked inside and went up to the front desk. "I'm Uchiha Akito, and I'm here to pick up my wife." He said.

"Thank goodness you're here sir. She is freaking out the other cell mates." The woman said, shaking her head as she took the check from him. "She's in the back, I'll have an officer let her out." She motioned with her head.

Akito followed one of the officers back to the row of cells, stopping in front of the one Natsumi was in. It was odd, because the same people were in there that had been with him, only they were all on the other side of the cell. Then he looked at Natsumi, and could see why. She looked livid. The officer took out the key and unlocked the door, opening it for her.

"Now honey, let me explain before you freak out." Akito said, holding his hands up in front of him.

"You freaking asshole!" Natsumi screamed, lunging at him and gripping onto his hair, trying to rip out his dark locks and hitting him with all her might. The police officers were up instantly trying to pull Natsumi off of him. And when they finally did, Akito had a nice yellow bruise on his jaw. "I'm going to kill you! How _dare_ you do this to me!" she shrieked, tears streaming down her face, trying to get at him still even though the officers were successfully holding her back. "You betrayed me! Was this all part of your sick plan? Are you happy now? I hate you! I. Hate. You! I am taking my children and you will _never _see them again! After I am proven innocent I'm leaving! I knew you hadn't changed you-!" she screeched into the officer's hand that was now clasped over her mouth.

Akito looked absolutely broken. "Natsumi, I didn't mean for this to happen. It had all been previously arranged and stuff after you put me in jail. I wasn't in my right mind, I swear." He held his hands up once more and walked towards her slowly. "Now, let me just take you home, and take some time to cool off before talking about this like rational adults. We don't need to do anything drastic."

"You get away from me!" she jerked her face from the officers hold. "Do _not_ take one step closer or you will regret it." she seethed.

"Natsumi, can I at least take you home? You can kick my ass there." He said, stopping in his tracks.

"NO! Get out! I don't want to be anywhere near you! I will walk home!" she glared, the only visible emotion in her eyes hatred.

His eyes hardened, knowing that she wouldn't budge on this. "Fine." He said, turning and leaving the station. He got in his car and drove behind the station, wanting her to think that he had left. Getting out of his car, he snuck to the side of the building and hid, waiting for her to come out. If she wouldn't let him take her home, then he was going to follow her home to make sure she was safe.

It was much later when she finally came out of the station, since she'd probably been read what she had to abide by until her court date. And probably threatened that she'd be thrown back in a cell if she acted out again like she had earlier. She took to the sidewalk and started towards the direction of her house, looking more than pissed. The people on the sidewalk with her seemed to move away, not wanting to be near the psychotic woman.

Discreetly, Akito followed her, putting on his aviators and making sure to keep about ten feet behind her so that he wouldn't be suspected. They continued down the sidewalk for about five minutes, until the hair on the back of his neck rose in awareness. He looked around, his eyes zeroing in on a punk looking kid who was following Natsumi at a leisurely pace on the other side of the street. It was then that he noticed the bright orange bandana just barely peeking from his jacket, marking him to be a member of Ziggy's gang.

Akito picked up his pace, wanting to be closer to Natsumi. Then, he saw the boy pull out a gun and aim it at the pink haired woman. Adrenaline filled Akito as he ran forward. "Natsumi!" he yelled in a panic, causing her to turn slightly and see him as the gun went off. Akito pushed her out of the way, causing her to hit the pavement as a searing pain lanced through his right shoulder. He grit his teeth, stumbling a bit from the impact and landing on his knees, gripping his now bleeding shoulder. As all this was happening, Akito had kept his eyes on the boy, and saw people panic and the boy run off, not wanting to be caught in all of the commotion.

Natsumi sat up, trying to clear her jumbled head and focus her dizzy vision. She'd hit her head and was trying to grasp what was going on. She'd heard her name and then heard a gunshot after Akito shoved her to the ground. She looked around and saw Akito, her raw rage filling her once more and bubbling over. How dare he follow her! She opened her mouth to scream at him and then froze, seeing his hand pressed against his shoulder and then he fell forward and hit the pavement. "Akito!" she crawled over to him, turning him over and seeing the wound. "Oh my God." Her eyes widened.

"Someone! Call 911! We need an ambulance!" she cried out, leaning over him and placing her hand over the bleeding wound. "No Akito! Please! Why did you follow me, I told you not to!" she sobbed, her tears hitting his unconscious face.

She pressed harder into his shoulder, making sure she stayed at least sane enough to help him. It wasn't too much longer that she heard the sound of sirens and knew that help was coming. She cried over him, not letting go as the paramedics tried to work around her. "Please don't leave me." She whispered, moving away when they needed room. They wrapped his wound and lifted him onto a stretcher. They went into the ambulance then and sped off towards the hospital.

Natsumi sat beside Akito, staring into his paling face. "Akito please, stop this. You can't leave. I'm not strong like you." She cried, resting her forehead on his, all her previous fury gone. All she wanted now was for him to be alright.


	12. Mending

**Dissociation**

_Chapter Eleven_

-Mending-

Akito slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the small slip of light that was streaming right over his eyes. He blinked a few times in order to let his eyes adjust, and when his vision cleared, he could see the tiles in the ceiling. His brow furrowed as he tried to think of where he was.

The last thing he remembered was the pain in his shoulder from the gunshot wound, and seeing Natsumi's assailant run away before everything became blurry. He vaguely remembered the sound of his name being shouted by someone, but before he could figure out who it was he was unconscious. He sighed. That must mean he was in the hospital, and he was fine.

His shoulder felt a bit stiff, and he experimentally moved it, wincing at the pain that shot down his arm. Along with the movement he felt something on his hand, and he rolled his head to the side to see what it was. Surprise lit his gaze before it softened to a small smile when he saw the top of Natsumi's pink head lying on the bed next to his arm, and the object over his hand being her own.

He rolled his hand so that he could hold her hand as well. "I love you." He said softly, not wanting to wake her. "And I'm so sorry. For everything." He began to rub the back of her hand with his thumb, continuing to watch her as she slept. He wondered how long he had been here, and hoped that he hadn't scared her too badly. That thought only made him feel worse about the whole situation.

The movement seemed to have roused her slightly, and eventually her eyes opened slowly and she looked up at his own. She sat up quickly and moved closer to him, "Akito, you're awake! Are you ok? How's your head. You aren't seeing double are you? Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat? You've been asleep for two days."

He just stared at her for a moment, surprised that she wasn't still upset with him, and that she was actually concerned. Because the last time they spoke, she had said she hated him and was going to take the kids away from him again. Well, he thought, might as well test the waters and see if she had forgiven him or not. "A striptease would be fantastic." He joked, smiling at her.

She hit him over the head harshly, not caring that he was injured. "Be serious you idiot! You were seriously hurt!"

"It was just a bullet wound." He said, rubbing his head with his free hand. "And in the end, I saved you, so it's worth it."

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "You are the most pompous man I have ever met." She sighed, sitting back down and crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "And what, dare I ask, makes you think you saved me?"

"He was aiming the gun at you." He sighed, becoming serious then as he rolled his head and looked back up at the ceiling. "The case that I've been working on lately involves one of the worst thugs in the city. He threatened to hurt you…or one of the kids…if I took the case against him. That's why Toshiro or I have been with you guys a lot over the weekend. And after you left the police station, I followed you on foot to make sure you would be okay. That's when I saw the guy across the street tailing you as well, and when he pulled out a gun, I panicked. I'm sorry if I hurt you, when I pushed you out of the way." He said softly, his body slowly tensing as he waited for her reaction. He glanced at her, praying that the look on her face wasn't a pissed off one.

"So…you we're just with me…because you had to be." She asked, her voice dangerously low, which meant he had to be extremely careful in what he said next.

"No." he said, turning his face towards her once more. "I was with you because I wanted to be with you and the kids. I didn't lie when I told you that that was the happiest I'd been in years. Even if there wasn't a threat to your life, I still would have followed you from that station, because I love you Natsumi. And I know I screwed up, and you have every right to hate me, but please don't take the kids away again. I'm not strong enough to survive losing my family once more. Not after I've seen what I could have had if I hadn't ruined everything." He said, his desperation and fear evident in his voice and his eyes.

"Why would you do that?" she glared back at him. "I lost my job because of you. Do you have _any_ idea the severity of what you've done?"

He looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. I'll take care of everything, don't worry about it. You'll have your job back by the end of the week, I promise."

She shook her head, leaning back in the chair and looking off. "You don't have any pull at a hospital Akito, my reputation is ruined. It's one thing to be accused and it be false but they actually found drugs. It's not like I don't look as guilty as if I was covered in blood and claimed I didn't kill someone. And even when I get proven innocent the rumor is still there and me working there will be bad for the hospital."

"What about finding work at a different hospital?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Like anyone would want me as a resident now." She closed her eyes and tried not to cry. "You've destroyed my life _again_." She said harshly.

True hurt and pain fixed itself on his face, and his entire body went stiff at her words. He turned his head to the other side, staring at the wall as his face went slowly blank. What did she mean by again? Was she talking about him getting her pregnant when they were young? Causing them to marry early, and then the way he had ruined the marriage? Or was it just the fact that he had insisted on staying in her life growing up, having fallen in love with her as a child and wanting to stay with her forever?

His fists clenched when he realized she was right. His very presence was what had ruined her life. If he hadn't been around she could have finished college, gone to medical school, met some nice guy and had a few kids with him. She would have been perfectly happy with that, and he wouldn't do anything to ruin her life. It seemed…that maybe it would be for the best if she left with the kids. That way he wouldn't be there to ruin anything else.

"But…" she sniffed. "As much as I hate you right now. And as mad as I am. I realized, when you were hurt, that it didn't matter how imperfect you were or how insane. Because the thought of losing you…was absolutely unbearable. The thought of not being able to find you again, tore me to shreds. Because I love you so much that I don't care," she looked at him, fully crying now. "Because I know how flawed I am as well and I cannot live without you anymore…I know I can't…because I could have picked anywhere to be transferred to…but I picked here…because I missed you so, so much. And I want to be with you because you make me happy and sad at the same time. You make me laugh and cry. But you make me feel real and raw and I've only ever felt that with you. And I thought…maybe you still wanted to be with me too…especially when I found this." She trembled, lifting up a small black velvet box.

Akito turned his head back to face her and went wide eyed, his gaze shooting to her teary one, and then the box in her hand. "I…bought that after that first night I saw you when you came back." He said softly. "I hated you for leaving, and I was angry as hell, but you're the only one who makes me feel things. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't be a normal human being if it weren't for you. And…after being with you again, I knew that you were what I wanted, no matter what. I wanted to be with you and the kids for the rest of my life, and so I decided to try and get you to love me again. I didn't know if you had kept your ring from our first marriage or not, but I like this one better, because it symbolizes a new life for us. It's the ring you deserve, the one I should have gotten you the first time." He looked at her.

"I love you so much Natsumi. I would have asked you to marry me sooner…but every time I was I always seemed to screw things up, and I didn't want to risk you saying no if I asked. Because that would kill me…if you didn't want me…the way I want you." He said softly.

"I do want you…" she whispered softly. "But I don't want you to hurt me anymore. And so I want to go back to California, where I lived with the kids."

Akito sighed and looked down, his entire being filled with sadness at the prospect of his family being so far away. The only bright side to this was that at least this time he would know where to find them, and so could visit them whenever he got the chance. It would be hard, but he supposed he deserved it, after everything.

"And I want you to come with me."

His eyes shot to hers. "You do?" he asked, hope filling him.

She nodded and smiled softly at him. "Yes. We can't be together there Akito. Too many bad things happened between us here and we can really start new there. And I know this case you have now is important, so we don't have to go now. But after…" she trailed off. "We could go and buy a house together."

He smiled. "I would like that. I could probably transfer to a firm out there, and still be a partner too, so that I don't have to work so hard. And if not, I'll just open up my own firm." He held his hand out for her to take.

"Well that's the thing." She smiled. "Toshiro and Minako are moving with us." She said taking his hand in hers.

"Then Toshiro and I will probably just open up our own firm. It's much easier that way." He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "So…does this mean you're accepting my proposal?"

"What proposal?" she smirked evilly. "I don't believe you've got down on one knee and asked me to marry you again."

"Am I even allowed to get out of this hospital bed?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

"Does it make a difference?"

He sighed, slowly sitting up and trying not to use his right arm. He reached out and took the box from her, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing. Then he got down on one knee, holding her hand in his the entire time. Once he was situated, as best anyone could be in a hospital gown that was currently giving him an uncomfortable breeze, he looked up at her. "Natsumi, I love you, more than life itself. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife once more?" he asked, popping open the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring set in white gold.

"Hm…" she tapped her chin with her free hand. "I suppose." She snickered, getting down to her knees as well and kissing him. He cupped her cheek, threading his fingers into her hair.

"You know…with my shoulder busted like this, you'll have to be on top for a while. Can you handle dominating me?" he asked deviously against her lips.

She pulled away slightly, giving him an amused look. "Please. If you think you're getting sex after what you did you are seriously mistaken. For your punishment, I'm not going to have sex with you until our wedding night." She replied smugly.

He pouted, sticking out his lower lip. "But Natty…I took a bullet for you…" he whined.

"Akki," she poked his forehead. "You planted cocaine in my locker and had me arrested and fired. It's not happening." She told him gleefully.

"Can we elope then?" he asked, still trying to look as adorable as possible.

"Nope!" Natsumi laughed and pulled away from him, helping him to his feet and back into bed. She looked at the ring on her finger and relished in the familiar weight. "You'll just have to wait till it's all planned and we're in California."

"Well then you'd better be ready for the best night of your life, cause' we're gonna keep going until we pass out." He smirked, grabbing the control to move his bed to a sitting position.

She sighed contently and shrugged. "Alrighty. I'll be ready." She waved him off and headed for the door. "I'll go get the kids and bring them to visit you and make some calls and start the planning."

"The kids are here?" he asked, perking up even more.

"No." she blinked. "They're at home. Probably just got back from school."

"Oh yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "I forgot they had school." He shrugged. "Alright, I guess I'll just sit here and harass the nursing staff while I wait."

"Don't be too mean." She laughed and walked over, kissing him on the head. "See you in a little while." She told him and left the room.

He sighed, leaning back against the head of the bed and smiling. Finally, things were beginning to look up. He couldn't believe his luck in finding such an amazing woman, and was extremely grateful that she had taken him back. He closed his eyes, beginning to drift off as he pictured what their new life together would be like, his entire being filled with a peace and happiness he hadn't felt in years.


	13. Epilogue: Serenity

**Dissociation**

_Epilogue_

-Serenity-

_**One year later…**_

Akito pulled into the driveway of his large house, tired from a long day at work. He turned off his car and got out, locking it before heading up the walkway to the front door. He went inside, shutting the door before placing his briefcase down and taking off his jacket, laying it down on the small table by the door. He would just take it upstairs on his way to bed.

Loosening his tie, since he felt like it was choking him, he rolled his neck, hearing, and feeling it crack at least five times. The sound of pattering feet reached his ears, and he prepared himself for the assault he knew was to come.

"Daddy!" a voice yelled, and just as he was expecting, Hayate came running around the corner, leaping into his arms. Akito picked him up with ease, feeling the stress of his day melt away at the sight of his son.

"Hey there little man." He smiled. His body jerked a bit as Sanosuke ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Hey dad." He said, smiling up at him. "How was work?"

"Same old. Your Uncle Toshiro said something dumb, I hit him over the head. We got a few new cases, and then wrapped up some old ones. Just lots of paperwork." He said.

"Sounds boring." Sanosuke said.

"Eh, it has its ups and downs." He looked around. "Where are the twins?" he asked, since they usually greeted him as well.

"They're swimming in the pool and trying to see who can stand on a raft the longest." Hayate said and it was then Akito noticed they were both in their swim trunks.

"Well you two should probably go and make sure they don't kill each other." He said, setting down Hayate. They nodded and ran off through the house, going back outside. Smelling something delicious, Akito made his way into the kitchen, smiling when he saw Natsumi busy cutting up lettuce on the cutting board. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest.

"Hey there pretty lady." He nuzzled her neck. "You should leave before my wife finds out I've been keeping such an attractive woman in my house. She's very possessive you know." He smiled as he kissed her neck.

"Is she now?" Natsumi snickered, leaning back into her husband. "I don't care. I'll fight for you baby." She purred.

"Mm, I always did like them feisty." He turned her around and kissed her sweetly. "I love you." He said, reaching up and cupping her cheek.

She smiled up at him and leaned into his hands. "I love you too sweetie. So," she pulled away from him, kissing his cheek before returning to her task. "How was work? Not too hard? You've been getting kind of stressed lately. Maybe we should take a vacation."

He went to the sink and washed his hands, getting out the stuff to make homemade pizzas. It was routine now, for him and Natsumi to cook together and catch up. Sometimes they traded off nights, but for the most part, they enjoyed it. "We should take the kids to Disney World." He said. "Spring break is coming up, that'd be the perfect time to go."

She frowned. "I hate Disney World. Let's go to Hawaii." She suggested, chopping up some more ingredients for the toppings.

"I suppose that sounds fun. And you and I can have a little date night while we're there." He looked over at her as he put the pizzas together. She smiled.

"A nice romantic night. Kind of like last Friday?" she arched a delicate brow, moving closer to him and placing the food in separate bowls.

"Yeah, but even better." He smiled, picking up a finished pepperoni and sausage pizza and putting it in the oven before starting the plain cheese one for Hayate.

"That sounds amazing." She whispered into his ear, pressing her front against his back. "I love you sweetheart." She kissed him again and then pulled away. "I'll go get the kids ready for dinner while you finish up." She called over her shoulder, heading out the back door.

Dinner was ready soon after, and they all ate together as a family, conversation never lacking as they talked about their days and the interesting things they had heard about. He introduced the idea of Hawaii to the kids, and they were all ecstatic to go, so after dinner, while the twins did the dishes and Sanosuke and Hayate got ready for bed, Akito booked the trip.

Once everything was cleaned up and all the kids were asleep in bed, Akito crawled into his large, king sized bed next to Natsumi, who was reading a book. "I think the vacation was a great idea honey." He said, turning off his bedside lamp.

"We all could use one." She said, closing her book and setting it on her bedside table. She loomed over him slightly and kissed his cheek. "We've all been working pretty hard, but I think we're doing better this time 'round."

"Me too." He said, waiting for her to turn off her lamp and lie down, wrapping his arms around her once she was. "Goodnight Mrs. Uchiha. I love you." He murmured, holding her against his body.

"Goodnight Mr. Uchiha. I love you too. I'm glad that we love each other."

"So am I." he said softly, closing his eyes. "So am I."

They fell asleep in each other's arms then, going to bed happy as they had for the past few months that they had been married. Akito was a better person than he had been the first time around, much happier and pleasant to be with. He and Natsumi still fought, but it usually ended in makeup sex, so they weren't worried about a thing. He smiled as he drifted off, still feeling that he didn't deserve such a wonderful family, but glad that they had chosen him anyways.


End file.
